Tabula Rasa
by Ika Inku
Summary: Second chances are rare in life. As Itachi soon learns with Hana, and it takes him a long and bumpy road to do so. [ItaHana, AU]
1. Act I

**Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto**

* * *

 _You could love her if you paid, you could have her every day. You could love her if you prayed; you could have her every way! — Seether_

* * *

Hot water cascaded down Hana's body, the droplets felt oddly hard and coarse against her battered skin. The young woman rested her arm against the wall and rested her head on her forearm, her mother's words vibrating in her head: _you can be whoever you want Hana._ _Be better than me; don't follow my path. Don't throw your life away, Hana._

So many other words that were in reality just words. "Well you know what Mom? If you hadn't got wasted and throwing away our money on booze and everything, I would be in college making something of myself and not earning my living on my back," Hana muttered bitterly. "You made me like this! I had to keep Kiba in school somehow! I had to put food on the table, pay the bills, keep clothes on our backs, somehow!" Hana growled. She slammed her fist against the side of the shower wall. Nails digging into her palm.

The young woman looked at the blotchy bruises on her body. Some were from clients that liked it a little too rough, but most where from her boyfriend. The scars on the other hand… all were self-inflicted. The one her wrists, those were the ones she hated talking about. She was surprise her hand was so steady… so calm as she pulled the knife across her pale wrist. She would've died, due to exsanguination; luckily, a dark eyed stranger hand found her bleeding to death and had called the ambulance. She had yet to forget those jet black eyes. She had skipped the therapy that followed, yet she hadn't tried to kill herself again, as those black eyes haunted her.

"Bitch, are you fucking yourself in the fucking shower?" her boyfriend shouted.

Hana groaned. "I'm almost done Hidan! If you really have to piss, piss out the window!" she shouted, slamming the knob and turning the water off.

"Just hurry the fuck up!" Hidan shouted. Hana snorted.

"I'll take my sweet time thank you very much, you bastard!" Hana stepped out of the shower and slowly dried herself, humming softly some song she heard on the radio _._ She pulled on her pajamas before stepping out of the bathroom.

Hidan was leaning against the wall, and empty Pepsi can in his hand, his white hair slicked back and his pale amethyst eyes glinting sadistically at her. "Well, about time you came out of the bathroom, bitch," Hidan growled.

"Just because my family has been breeding dogs for centuries, doesn't give you the right to call me a bitch, bitch," Hana snarled. Hidan twitched as he walked up to her. He wore all black, his muscle shirt defining his muscular torso.

"Shut the fuck up and show me some goddamn fucking respect, you whore!" Hidan backhanded her. Hana silently took it. She tasted blood in her mouth as her teeth cut her cheek.

She had long ago learned that to just shut up and take it from both her boyfriends and those clients that liked to hit the girls. Abuse came with her line of work, even though Jiraiya was a stickler about weeding out the "Hitters" as he liked to call them, she still got a few of them.

Normally, Hidan would just hit her once, yell and belittle her, then kiss and maybe they'll fuck. Tonight however, Hana knew the so-called make-up sex was out of the question. Hidan wanted blood, and he wanted her blood. Therefore, she calmly took the beating he dished out until her lip was bleeding and her left eye was starting to turn black and blue. _Good thing Hidan has a job_ , Hana thought grimly as his fist landed on another part of her body.

Only this time there was no impact. Hana opened her eyes; thankfully, her left eye wasn't going to swell. She nearly gasped as she stared at her savoir. It was the same dark eyed man saved her life. He was handsome, in his dark blue police uniform, his ash black hair tired back, and his bangs framing his face.

"Hidan, I should arrest you for domestic violence, but I'll let you off on a warning if you let me take the girl to my place," the cop said calmly, his voice rich and smooth with a slight rasp. Hidan pulled his wrist free from the officer.

"Whatever you want Uchiha, she ain't fucking pretty anymore," Hidan looked at Hana with a sneer.

"Miss, please gather some clothes," the cop said politely.

"Uhm…" Hana blinked, too shocked to realize what was happening.

"Bitch, do as the cop said!" Hidan grabbed her by her hair, brutally yanking on it.

The police officer suddenly pinned Hidan against the wall, slapping handcuffs on him. "Akatenshi Hidan, you are under arrest for domestic violence. You have the right to remain silent…"

Hana left as the cop read Hidan his rights to gather her things. She was smiling and felt oddly giddy about the new turn of events.

* * *

Hana soon found herself sitting opposite of the handsome cop that had saved her life twice, though Hana doubted he remembered her from the suicide attempt. She had learned his name was Uchiha Itachi and he was currently looking through her own rap sheet. "Arrested for prostitution," he raised a dark eyebrow, "drug possession, drug abuse, possession with the intent to sell, by all means you should be locked up for life," Itachi looked at her. "How the hell did you manage to get out of justice?" Itachi asked.

Hana snorted. She knew his type. The straight arrow, goody-two-shoes, brown nosing good cop. The ones that still believed justice was blind and the system worked and wasn't broken, that corruption and greed hadn't sank its teeth into the pale belly of the justice system. "Oh the usual," Hana shrugged. "Slept with this judge and this lawyer, fed another judge a very colorful sob story of my life, which was pretty much all truth, I just stretched it a lot, gave others' their drugs, you know," she smirked as she leaned back, positioning her body for the maximum of sexuality, "the usual." Hana leaned forwards, her hands before her. "Arrest me Officer Uchiha, I've been a really bad girl," she cooed with a playful smirk.

Itachi blinked at the girl before him. She wasn't that pretty, not with the bruises and fat lip, but he assumed she had a charm behind the bruises. Red fang tattoos were on her cheeks, her brown hair in a ponytail and brown eyes so dark they were nearly black. He couldn't help but feel drawn to this woman.

The door opened: "Itachi, your little brother is here," another man said, sticking his head in. He looked similar to Itachi, only his hair was short and wavy.

"All right Shisui." Itachi looked at Hana then at Shisui. "Take Miss Inuzuka down to the waiting….better yet, send Sasuke in then take Miss Inuzuka to my father's office," Itachi said.

"Your father's office?" Shisui seemed surprised.

"Yes, I'm going to take her home," Itachi said with a nod. He shuffled some papers. Hana blinked in surprise before her lips contorted into a frown. She would not be treated like a bloody prize. She slammed her hands on Itachi's desk.

"Listen here bub; I'm not some toy or stray dog you can just take home because you feel sorry for me! I'm a person!" Hana leaned in close; her nose was only inches away from Itachi. "So, get it through your thick egoistically head! I don't like being treated like I'm chattel, like I'm less than human! That's dark age thinking!" Hana growled. Itachi blinked before his lips twitched up into an annoying little smirk.

Itachi had a baffled look on his face. "I'm just taking you back to my place so you don't have to go to the women's shelter," he explained. "Of course if you're offering—"

Hana blinked before screeching and would've clawed out Itachi's eyes if Shisui hadn't grabbed her and dragged her out of the office, Sasuke watching with surprise from the door.

* * *

Shisui glanced at the fuming girl as they walked down the hall. "I can't believe him! That bastard! When I get my hands on him I'm gonna slice his balls clean off!" Hana grumbled.

"That's called aggravated assault against an officer and it's a felony," Shisui replied in a singsong voice. Hana glowered at him.

"Do I fucking look like I care?" Hana snarled.

"No," Shisui said, smirking. "Not really." Shisui and Hana continued to walk down the hall in silence, before the man snickered.

"What?" Hana glanced at him.

"Nothing, I just can't believe this that's all," Shisui said.

"Why?"

"Itachi's always had a soft spot for strays—"

"I'm not some _stray_ there is a very good reason why I'm in this position and not as some big shot university!"

"Or he is fascinated by you." Shisui glanced over at Hana with a cocky little smirk. "I'm guessing option one. However, knowing my coz, it's properly option two. He's gay, we think. Poor Mikoto wore black for a week to mourn the fact that her eldest son was gay," Shisui said.

"You and that idiot are related?" Hana blinked.

"Yep. We're cousins, through our fathers. I'm like his third cousin or something weird like that," Shisui grinned. "Though, if you really want to get under his skin," Shisui said giving her a perverted grin, "show him your tits. He'll be forced to arrest you for indecent exposure and then you can have your way with him."

"Pervert!" Hana screeched and would've slapped him if it weren't against the law. Nevertheless, he did have a point, it would be fun to get Itachi to "arrest" her and have a wild bedroom romp because of it. _No! What am I thinking! Get your mind out of the gutter, Hana! Itachi is a two-face no-good two-timing asshole. Don't think about what he looks like out of his clothes._ She frowned at herself for thinking such perverted thoughts.

"Hey, I'm just saying," Shisui chuckled. "It's just that Itachi never lets anything get to him, and you clearly did. Guy has the emotional capability of a rock. Mikoto may try to get you to marry Itachi," Shisui said.

"Wait…what? Marry him! I just met him!" Hana protested.

"Well…umm…Mikoto really wants grandkids. Like really, really badly. It's been like a personal quest of hers, kinda scary," Shisui scratched his head. "Hope you're on the pill," he muttered. "I mean, she already arranged a match for Sasuke with the cousin of her best friend."

"If assaulting a police officer wasn't a felony, I would so totally beat your ass," Hana growled.

"Maybe I'll take you home instead, I like a feisty chick." He gave a perverted smirk before continuing towards Fugaku's office.

* * *

Fugaku looked up as Shisui entered with Hana following him. "Shouldn't she be locked up?" Fugaku asked.

"Itachi has taken a personal interest in her." Shisui glanced at Hana, "and from what I heard, she's the real victim here."

"Have a seat Miss Inuzuka," Fugaku sighed. "Shisui out."

Shisui left. Hana gulped staring at the middle-aged Uchiha. "So, is uhm..." Hana bit back her question.

"Itachi is my eldest son if you are wondering," Fugaku said, not bothering to look up from his paper work. "And I have read your rap sheet," he added.

 _Double damn,_ Hana thought. Hana sat there in silence waiting for Itachi. The door opened revealing Itachi.

"Father," he said stiffly.

"Take your little science project and go." Fugaku waved his hand. Itachi motioned to Hana to follow him. Hana got up and followed the Uchiha.

* * *

They drove to Itachi's apartment in silence; and entered his rather plain apartment without any words spoken between them. "If you want to take another shower go ahead," he said as he unbuttoned his blue shirt, not even looking at her as he headed towards his bedroom. Hana shook her head, watching him from the doorway's shadows; she was trying to read him. It was something she was rather good at, Hell, she had to be on the streets; but the man was difficult to read.

He pulled the shirt off and neatly hung it up on a coat rack and Hana blushed slightly at the sight of his muscles for he only wore a white tank top. But what caught her eye were the scars on his arms, in the crook of his elbow. _So, good cop Uchiha Itachi, isn't such a good boy as I thought,_ Hana mused.

"Are you going to stare at me all night?" Itachi asked. Hana blinked at him and blushed when she realized he had easily snuck up on her. She folded her arms over her chest, jutting out one hip.

"Where did you get those scars?" she asked, tracing them lightly with her fingertips. He grabbed the offending hand and traced the shiny scar on her wrist with his own fingertip.

"And how did you acquire this cicatrix?" he purred softly. Hana yanked her hand away and glared at him.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Hana growled. Itachi chuckled softly and Hana shuddered. It was a rich velvety sound and she couldn't help but want to hear more of it and wondered what he sounded like as she rode him long and hard. _Get your mind out of the bleeding gutter!_ Hana scolded herself.

"There is a hide-away bed in the couch," he said, jerking his thumb towards the couch. "I'll get a spare pillow and blanket for you. And some sheets."

"Don't I have to pay rent or something," Hana asked scratchily, a smirk coloring her lips.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" Itachi asked, blinking at her.

"Only if you want me to," she replied softly, trailing one hand down his muscular arm. Hana shuddered, surprised at how soft and smooth his skin was. Itachi inclined his head, his dark eyes colored with mystery.

"And if I don't?" he whispered softly. Hana noted that his breath smelled like tea not coffee.

"Then I guess I'll hafta try harder then don't I?" Hana smirked, as her hand dropped to his torso, trailing along his chest, feeling each chiseled muscle he possessed, until it reached his waistband of his pants. She gave it a sharp tug. Itachi raised an eyebrow watching her with a gaze that was a cross between amusement and neutrality. His eyes widen slightly as her hand slipped into his pants. "Am I doing a good job?" Hana asked cutely.

"Hn." he pulled her hand out only to pin her against the wall.

"That's considered sexual harassment," Itachi whispered, his dark eyes boring holes into her.

"Doll, I make a living by sexually harassing people." Hana grinned at him. Itachi grunted before letting her go. He straightened.

"To answer your earlier question, no, you don't need to give me any sexual favors," Itachi said. "Good night Miss Inuzuka." He headed into his bedroom and closed the door.

Hana stared at the door with a puzzled frown. "Hmph, what a weird guy," she muttered, before heading to the couch, grabbing on of the blankets Itachi had draped over the back of a recliner. "He even forgot to get me the pillow and blanket," she whined. She grabbed a couple of throw pillows before flopping onto the couch with a yawn. She shifted around on the couch, before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

* * *

Itachi was surprise to see the woman curled up on his couch the next day. He half expected her to leave during the night. Not that he minded or anything, he was just a bit surprised, and a bit startled to see how beautiful and innocent she looked sleeping. He silently walked up to the sleeping woman and lightly traced the red tattoo on her cheek. She grunted and rubbed her face into the pillow. Itachi shook his head and entered the kitchen to make breakfast.

Hana woke up to the smell of food. Groaning she sat up to stare at Itachi then glance at the clock. "Don't you have to get to work?" she asked.

"Hn." Itachi looked over his shoulder at her before going back to his omelet.

"Well?" Hana slipped out from under the blanket, slowly walking up to Itachi. "Are you going to answer my question?" she growled.

"Do you want an omelet?" he asked, looking at her with those hypnotic black eyes.

"Answer my question!" she growled.

"It's Friday, I have Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday off," he said. "Now, do you want an omelet or not?"

"Fine," she sighed. He gave a curt nodded and grabbed two eggs, not bothering to watch Hana sit down at the table.

They didn't speak for fifteen minutes. "Here you go." Itachi set Hana's omelet down before her, before sitting opposite of her; he began to calmly eat his omelet and drink his glass of orange juice. Hana poked at her food, before cutting into the egg and cheese concoction.

"Mushrooms?" she asked around a full mouth.

"Hn." Itachi seemed engrossed in his newspaper.

"Kinda funny for a cop to have needle scars," Hana said.

"It's none of your business," Itachi muttered.

"Sure." Hana finished off her omelet, got up and placed it in the sink. "Well, thanks for the food and letting me spend the night." Hana headed towards the door. "I hafta go!" She brushed against his coat before exiting his house. Itachi heard the door click close and sighed. It suddenly felt empty without her. Empty and lonely.

* * *

Hana smirked as she held Itachi's wallet in her hand. "He didn't even notice that it was gone, loser," she muttered to herself as she left the apartment complex and headed into the opposite direction.

Itachi frowned as Shisui snickered. "It's not funny!" Itachi grumbled, wondering what compelled his cousin to stop by.

"Actually, it kinda is, Mikoto is giving your old man an earful. Apparently, I wasn't the only one that assumed you took the girl to bang her," Shisui said.

"Hn." Itachi rested his chin on his palm.

"And after giving your mother such hope that you weren't gay, you could've at least lied about the fucking," Shisui cackled.

"Out!" Itachi growled. Shisui snickered.

"Itachi, either you're gay or you're a eunuch." Shisui dodged Itachi's fork. "Hey! That could've taken out my eye!" Shisui protested, before he yanked the door open. "Later Ita-kun!" Shisui called before leaving. Itachi snorted as he headed towards the door that was left slightly ajar. He figured it was best if he went for a walk, maybe then he would forget about the damn girl and his apartment wouldn't feel so cold, empty and lonely. He pulled on his jacket, zipped it up and shoved his hands into the pockets.

His eyes widened as he realized his wallet was gone. "Damn bitch!" he swore and headed out to find her.

* * *

Hana was enjoying her lunch, when Itachi walked up to her. "You whore!" he growled.

"Good afternoon to you too." Hana bit into her cheeseburger. "And thank you for noticing that I am, in fact, as you like to put it a whore," she added. "Now, shoo-shoo, I'm eating," she said. He grabbed her cheeseburger and tossed it onto the ground. "Hey, I was eating that you bitch!" she glanced at him.

"You little thieving slut!" Itachi hauled her to her feet by her collar.

"What the fuck, you bastard! Unhand me!" Hana shouted.

"You stole my wallet!"

"I call it borrowing," Hana grumbled.

"You could've asked for some money!" He growled. Hana smirked.

"Why do you even care? I bet you are swimming in money, Mr. Uchiha Itachi!" Hana replied. Itachi twitched, and was seriously considering arresting her and dragging her sorry ass down to the precinct, if he would just stop staring at those damn lips of hers, puckered from the autumn cold.

Hana's eyes flashed before she grabbed his face and kissed him. Itachi was shocked. His eyes growing wide as Hana's lips gently massaged his own and she soon had her tongue in his mouth. He closed his eyes and happily returned the kiss. Hana pulled away, grinning before running off. "Hey! Get back here!" Itachi shouted, running after her.

"I still don't see what's the big deal is, I just bought a cheeseburger, I've stopped dealing a long time ago," Hana grumbled. Itachi had caught up with her and she gave him back his wallet, about a dollar fifty shorter than when she took it.

"Though you still sell yourself," Itachi pointed out.

"Only at Jiraiya's House of Comely Paradise." Hana smirked. "I've stopped doing the street thing," she said. Itachi nodded before looking around at the people in the fast food joint. Hana sipped her soda. "I got this when I tried to kill myself," she said, tracing the scar on her wrists. "I would be dead if some guy hadn't seen me laying on the ground bleeding to death and called the ambulance. Never learned his name and never saw him again," Hana mused.

Itachi stiffened slightly, as he remembered the girl he found, bleeding, looking lost. He couldn't just leave her there to die. He jumped slightly when Hana placed her hand on his arm. "He had eyes like yours…in color, not in the burdening emotional angst of doom," Hana said, before continuing to eat.

"And why do you care about this stranger that saved your life?" Itachi asked. "To tell him thank you?"

"Nope." Hana shook her head, "to ask him why he felt my life was worth saving."

"Maybe he saw something worth saving as the light of life slowly left your eyes," Itachi replied softly. Hana snorted.

"You have a way with words Uchiha, but flattery gets you nowhere fast with me." Hana sipped her coke. "So, tell me about your scars?" she asked.

"Why are you interested in them?" he asked.

"You're a cop. Cops aren't supposed to have scars indicative of a criminal," Hana said. He grabbed a few fries from her tray; thoughtfully planning his next move as he munched on the salty deep fried potato slices, before her grabbed her free hand and shoved her sleeve up passed her elbow. "Hey!" Hana protested, glaring at the man then glancing at her own scars. She pulled away and pushed her sleeve down. "Why are you so surprise about them? You read my rap sheet."

"Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" he asked.

"Nah," Hana shook her head. He raised an eyebrow. "I've been in and out of JuV since I was ten, always getting into fights at school. Dropped out of high school to support my mom and kid brother." Hana bit her burger. "Around that time I met Orochimaru, he became my pimp, cause a girl won't make it very far without a pimp, kinda like a geisha and her _dana_. Orochimaru got me hooked on the drugs. Then I wised up when I was nineteen, kicked the habit, which wasn't very fun." Hana shuddered. "Withdrawal is hell, that's how I got this," she traced the scars on her wrists.

"I wanted a hit so badly, but…Shino and Kiba, they kept me from the drugs, they and the man that saved my life, saved me from the brink." Hana smiled. "Now, I work as a stripper for Jiraiya. I still do specials for some of his pricey patrons, but he makes sure the girls are treated well." Hana leaned back wiping her hands on a napkin. "You're turn."

Itachi blinked, looking at her. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"Your turn, spill your guts," she said.

"You are a fool for telling me your life story," Itachi commented. Hana leaned forwards.

"I'm tough, I'm a street kid. We all came from broken homes, why hide the fact that we were born into fucked up lives?" Hana grinned. Itachi stood up.

"Maybe when we get more acquainted," he said.

"You really have a stick shoved up your ass," Hana grumbled.

"Hn." Itachi continued to stare at her.

"Listen why don't you stop by House of Comely Paradise, I go on at nine. Watch me dance," she smirked.

"No." He headed for the door.

"Aaw, why not? Are you really gay?" she asked. Itachi froze to glare at her. "It doesn't bother me, I've fucked both."

"Hn." He narrowed his eyes.

"Just come, bring that cousin of yours, maybe he'll get you to lighten up," Hana said, as she slipped out of the booth and walked up to him. "It's all legal," she giggled. "See ya tonight! Remember, I go one at nine!" she reminded him, before sashaying out of the fast food joint, leaving Itachi dumbfounded and his pants a tad bit tighter.

* * *

 **Well… this was originally supposed to have nine more pages, but I wanted to post this but it was getting too long. I don't know why I have Hana a whore or Itachi an ex-druggie in these dark AU ideas I have for them, but I just do.  
**

 **I'm editing/revamping this as well. There will be five parts (or maybe six). This is one of the few pieces of fanfiction I'm actually really proud of. The original concept of the fic was for it to be a super one-shot, but it got too long so, I chopped it up into originally 4 parts called "Acts". Now, the first chapter was just too long (lol) and got chopped up too.**

 **The title** _ **tabula rasa**_ **means "second chance", you'll see why later why it's a fitting title.**

 **Save an author; leave a review.**

 **Cheers!**

 **-Nemo**


	2. Act II

**Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto**

* * *

 _I can be your whore!_ _I am the dirt you created,_ _I am your sinner,_ _I am your whore_ _._ _But let me tell you something baby,_ _you love me for everything you hate me for! — In This Moment_

* * *

"Hana! You're up!" Shizune shouted. Shizune was vital to the girls at Jiraiya's club. She was the liaison between the girls and Jiraiya and took care of them.

"Thanks Shizu-chan!" Hana applied the last of the cover up on her scars and bruises, before heading towards the door.

"Hana, dazzle them tonight." Shizune ran up to Hana and shoved a toy whip into the Inuzuka's hands. "You are sexy and you're dangerous, yet you like to have fun. And there is a special guy out there tonight," Shizune said with a wink. Hana hoped it was Itachi.

Itachi eyed Shisui, who seemed to be enjoying himself. "Shisui," Itachi grumbled.

"Hey, you can go home if you want," Shisui replied.

"Hn." Itachi glanced around, his dark eyes picking up things.

"So, who is this girl?" Shisui asked.

"I told you, she's the Inuzuka girl," Itachi grumbled. Shisui nodded as he sipped his beer.

"Why don't you drink, loosen up!" Shisui slapped a hand onto Itachi's back.

"Hn." Itachi watched as the curtain lifted, revealing a masked man with silver hair.

"Our next kunoichi is armed and dangerous! Put your hands together for the lovely, sexy and dangerous… Fang!" Kakashi announced before vanishing through a trap door on the stage.

* * *

Itachi's eyes nearly jumped out of his skull. The girl that was swaying her hips and hanging on the pole was surely not the same girl he bought a cheeseburger for. She didn't have a mark on her body, save for the red tattoos on her cheeks. He was drawn to her, hypnotized by the way her hips swayed from side to side, how she pulled herself on that pole, hell! He wanted to be that pole! Just to feel her tongue against his skin, better yet, those pearly teeth against his flesh. Itachi groaned.

"Itachi?" Shisui shook him.

"Hn?" Itachi looked at his cousin and best friend.

"You okay?" Shisui asked.

"Peachy." Itachi fixed his eyes on the nearest fat guy, and it took all of his will power not to look at the dancing beauty.

It was a quarter to one. Shisui had gone home; he still had a job, and told Itachi he envied him for his stretch of days off. "Hi-ya!" Hana grinned sliding into a seat besides Itachi. He didn't jump, just calmly looked at her.

"Hn." he snorted.

"So, didja like it?" Hana asked. Of course, he liked it; he loved it.

"Hn." he sipped his water.

"Why don't you come over to my place, and I'll show you the forbidden stuff," Hana purred. Itachi blinked and was sorely tempted to take her up on the offer. "Not only would it crush my feelings but I'm pretty sure the little weasel wants to play." Hana smirked. Itachi was glad that the lighting in the placed was screwy, because Hana couldn't see his blush. "Well, if you change your mind," she sighed dramatically and got up and took one step before Itachi pulled her back into his lap, nuzzling her bare neck.

"How dare you torment me and think you can just get away with it?" he whispered, his chapped lips brushing against her skin. Hana snickered.

"Then come upstairs, there are private rooms," Hana grinned.

"No." Itachi looked at her. "My place." A predatory glint sparked in his black orbs. "I don't want anyone to hear you scream my name in rapture."

"Okay, just let me get my stuff and tell Shizune," Hana pulled free of Itachi's grasp and ran up to another woman.

* * *

Hana was surprised that Itachi hadn't jumped her yet. Most house calls, the guy jumped her before the door was even close; knowing the Kakashi and Ibiki weren't there to stop them from getting too frisky. "Bet it's his first time, I hate breaking in newbies," Hana grumbled.

"Actually no, I've had sex before," Itachi said.

"Yeah, with yourself." Hana smirked, as she saw Itachi blush slightly.

"No, her name was Izumi if you must know. She and I were an item a few years ago." Itachi held his head high, "we've since broken up," he finished a bit indignantly.

"Right, sure." Hana flopped back, skillfully positioning herself to look the most inviting as possible. "Whatever you say big boy, just give it to me rough." she smirked, as Itachi walked closer to her. "Though on second thought, I doubt you are that big," she teased.

Itachi pounced on her. "Are you implying you've seen bigger?" he purred.

"Maybe," Hana pushed herself up, catching his lips with hers. Hana closed her eyes with a soft moan, his hands running along her waist, only to slip under the skimpy little tank top that was her nightshirt. Hana bit his lip. He pulled away blinking.

"What? I can't have my way with you now?" he growled, eyes narrowing.

"Tch." She sat up, wiggling into his lap as she tossed her arms over his neck. She began kissing his jaw, then down along his neck, her hands slipping under the white tank top, easily removing it from his body; nipping his shoulders.

Itachi groaned, his hands tightening as Hana wiggled in his lap and nipped his skin. "Hana," he breathed into her ear.

"Hm?" she looked at him, before she was suddenly on her back.

"I'll have you know, a little pain doesn't bother me." He leaned down towards her, "you'll have to do more than that to get me to scream; because before the night is done I'll have you screaming." He pulled the top off her body exposing her marred flesh and perky breasts. He smirked, a hungry look in those onyx eyes of his. Hana blinked, suddenly calm and sure of herself, she knew Itachi wouldn't hurt her, not like the others, not like Hidan.

Hana groaned, arching her back as he bit her shoulder, his calloused hands running along her toned stomach. "That'll leave a mark," Hana pointed out.

"Mine," he breathed, pinching her nipples, while his other hand slipped into her pants to finger her. Hana moaned softly, wiggling her hips.

"All yours," she breathed, yet it didn't sound hollow any more. She didn't mind belonging to this strange, dark eyed man.

Itachi kissed her breasts before sucking on them in turn. Hana moaned softly, her breath catching in her throat. She half-heartedly pushed against his chest, which was smooth, bare, and so muscular. She found his tied back hair and pulled the ribbon free, his hair cascading down his shoulders and face. Hana gleefully fisted her hands into those black locks, tugging at them, causing Itachi to moan and bit her breasts.

She felt her pajama bottoms being removed as Itachi kissed and nipped his way down to her waist, pausing only to thrust his tongue into her naval. Hana giggled, weaving her fingers through his dark hair. She was so wet and throbbing with desire, he was just staring at her, playing with the dark curls atop her womanhood. "Ita—" he bent down and kissed her between her legs, "—chiii!" Hana moaned, pressing her knees around his head to keep him down there.

Itachi chuckled softly, holding her ankles, enjoying the feel of her knees pressing against his head and her hands in his hair. Hana's heady musk and the scent of her arousal made him grow harder, and the restrictiveness of his pants were physically starting to hurt. He tugged on her outer lips with his teeth, just to hear her moan, but he wanted to hear her yelp, maybe even scream, so he bit down harder and gave a sharper tug. He was rewarded with a sharp dog like yip, before he thrust his tongue into her cavern, lapping at her juices.

Hana moaned softly, she was so hot, so wet, so close to coming, any second now and…

Hana glared down at Itachi, as he raised his head up, she twitched, she was about to come and he had to stop. Fucking ass, well, he'll pay for that, Hana easily pushed him onto his back, ignoring his manic laughter as her hands and lips touched, scratched, kissed and bit every inch of that delectable flesh he possessed.

She tugged off his pants, tossing them over her shoulder, underwear and all, before staring at his manhood. "Well?" his voice soft and husky as he fingered himself. "Am I everything you imagined?" he asked with a smirk. Hana grinned.

"Let's see how you fit first, and then I'll think about buying." She kissed his lower thigh, slowly working her way upwards, her fingers digging into his calves. Hana licked his shaft, slowly, as if she was savoring a popsicle. Itachi let out a shuddering groan as she kissed the crown, before taking all of him into her mouth. She pulled back slowly, only to take the foreskin between her teeth and gave it a sharp, slightly painful tug. Itachi silently gasp, and Hana licked the crown, shuddering as Itachi groaned.

"Damn you," he muttered as Hana, giggling pulled away.

"Tit for tat," she sneered.

Itachi pounced on her, and didn't even bother giving her a warning as he drove himself into her up to the hilt. Hana couldn't help but scream in rapture. Itachi began a steady rhythm, Hana mumbling for him to go harder, faster, and he was very happy to comply.

Hana pulled him down, her nails cutting red fissures into his skin. She bit down on his shoulder, and then she came; she increase the pressure of her bite until she tasted blood in her mouth, but she didn't care and Itachi didn't seem to mind at the moment either, because his eyes were glassy as he climaxed.

Itachi wondered why his arms were shaking so badly. Hell, he'd never had an orgasm like that before and it was… wonderful. He couldn't help but stare down at the woman beneath him. With a sleepy smile, Hana tucked a lock of hair behind his ear. "You're cute when you smile," she murmured, before drifting off to sleep. Itachi pulled out of her, before he fell besides her. Hana mumbled in her sleep as he pulled her close, kissing her neck. He didn't love her or maybe he did, but he surely cared about her. The sex was awesome and he knew that given time, he knew he could love her. Itachi smiled as he nuzzled her neck.

"Hana," he whispered softly and vaguely wondered how he got so lucky.

* * *

Hana felt hot breath on her the next morning. Her brain was fuzzy and refusing to compute anything, other than the fact that she was warm, safe and very, very happy. Slowly as she woke, she tried to get up, but a pair of strong arms held her in place.

"Nnngh." Someone nuzzled her bare back. Then is all came back to her. Last night, Itachi, sex, the club, everything. She groaned. How could she have been so stupid to actually fall asleep in his own bed! It was a no-no in her book. Bang 'em and leave 'em, is how she worked. Hana rolled over as best she could to stare into Itachi's sleeping face. She couldn't help but be reminded of a child for his face was relaxed; the lines on either side of his nose weren't that noticeable. He was tranquil, as she gently pushed more black hair from his face. "Hana?" he breathed softly, startling her.

"Shh." She cupped his cheek. "Sleep, I'm not going anywhere," she whispered. He smiled and chuckled softly.

"Nah, I've been awake for a good hour and a half." He smirked.

"Bitch," she grumbled, trying to fight down the blush that crept onto her cheeks. There was something oddly flattering about knowing that he had watched her sleep.

Hana sat up, grabbing her pajama top, and pulling over her head. "Well, thanks for the sex, but I have to get going." Hana was about to get out of bed, but Itachi grabbed her hand.

"Stay," his voice was soft. It wasn't a command but a request. "I'll make breakfast," he said. Hana blinked.

"I barely know you!" Hana pointed out. _Swell Hana, ruin the moment why don'tcha? Really smooth girl._ She mentally kicked herself. Itachi frowned, letting go of her wrist.

"I know, I'm sorry, I shouldn't've asked," he muttered, grabbing a pair of sweatpants and slipping into them. Hana felt her heart crack at his dejected mannerism.

 _Awkward._

"Hey, Itachi, uhm…I'd love to stay," she said with a smile. He looked at her, blinked then smiled.

"I'll fix waffles then," he turned and headed towards the door. Hana caught sight of a small red cloud tattooed onto his left shoulder blade.

 _Akatsuki? He was a member of Akatsuki!?_

* * *

 **The end of Act II.**

 **This was the ending part of the first chapter, but I broke it up into two parts since I was lazy and I didn't want to edit all 24 godsdamn pages last night, and I watch too much crime drama. I know, I know!**

 **Save an author; leave a review.**

 **Cheers!**

 **-Nemo**


	3. Act III

**Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto**

* * *

 _Why is it so hard to find someone_ _,_ _who cares about you?_ _When it's easy enough to find someone_ _,_ _who looks down on you! — Three Days Grace_

* * *

"Nngh…Itachi…d-don't stop," Hana muttered as Itachi feverishly kissed her neck. He paused to look at her with a cocky smirk, his black eyes glittering with lust.

"I don't plan on stopping," he buried his head into the crook of her neck, kissing and nipping her soft skin. They had been living together for about a month and a half, Itachi kept denying the fact that he was dating Hana, even though everyone knew it was a lie, at least on his part, cause Hana agreed that yes, they were dating, in a very weird fashion. Anyway, Itachi came home early, Hana made dinner; they watched some lame horror flick and were now getting it on.

Itachi was currently kissing his way down Hana's naked body, her hands tangled in his hair. The phone rang. The jingle oddly loud and annoying. "Ignore it," Hana muttered.

"Hn." Itachi continued kissing Hana's thigh. The phone rang three more times before the answering machine picked it up; there was silence on the other end. The couple proceeded to ignore the annoying telephone, but it rang again. Itachi stopped and reached for it, but Hana grabbed his hand, placing it on her breast.

"I'm more interesting," she breathed, causing the dark eyed man to chuckle, going back to covering her body with heated kisses. The phone rang a third time.

"Hana, I have to get it." Itachi muttered, leaning over her, his fingers wrapping around the communication device. Hana smirked, she had a nice view of her boyfriend's chest, just begging to be touched and teased, so Hana did just that.

"Hello… Ha-na," Itachi moaned, a smile gracing his lips. "Oh…erm, hey Sasuke…y-you caught me at a bad time…what am I doing? Well, I'm…ugh," Itachi gave a loud erotic groan as Hana bit his nipple. "Hana, I'm on the phone," Itachi growled when he was able to speak again.

"Don't care." Hana kissed his chest.

"Yes, I'm still here, Sasuke, now what is it so I can get back to my uhm…activity," Itachi snapped, trying not to groan into the phone again. "You _what?_ " Itachi sat up, sex far from his mind. Hana pouted. "Damn it, okay fine, I'll be right over," Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, yes, I understand, just don't touch anything and stay put got it? Okay, bye," Itachi hung up the phone and angrily threw the covers off him. Hana frowned and pulled him back, catching his lips with hers. "Hana, stop I have to go," Itachi whispered.

"Just forget about it, and let someone else deal with it," Hana mumbled.

"I can't," Itachi protested.

"Listen, I'm all hot and bothered, the least you can do is finish the job," Hana growled.

Itachi kissed her, running his hands through her chocolate tresses. "I'd really would love to but this is serious, sorry." Itachi kissed her heatedly before pulling away. Hana pouted as he began to dress.

"Do you really have to go?" Hana asked.

"Sadly, yes." He looked at her as he hastily tied his hair back.

"You look hot doing that." Hana batted her eyes. "And after I worked so hard to get you out of those clothes too," she pouted playfully.

"Sorry love," he kissed her before grabbing his badge and his jacket and leaving. Hana blinked rapidly. "Don't wait up for me!" he shouted from the hall, before exiting the apartment.

 _He called me love,_ Hana thought before smiling happily and snuggling into the blankets.

* * *

Itachi looked at the mess before him. Sasuke had rammed black Lexus against a lamppost. Sasuke's red haired girlfriend, his best friend and his girlfriend all stared at Itachi. The elder Uchiha really wished he were back at his apartment, getting the best lay of the week, but no! He had to be out here, pulling Sasuke's ass out of the fryer again! "The things I do for family," Itachi grumbled. "Okay, what happened? Lamppost jump in front of you?" Itachi asked.

"Well, I ran into a pole," Sasuke said stupidly and looked at the ground.

"No shit Sherlock," Itachi crossed his arms over his chest. "Did Karin have her hands down your pants?"

"I did no— the nerve of— I'm not a slut!" Karin shouted, glaring at Itachi. She was squeezing Sasuke's bicep with one hand while clenching and unclenching her other hand. There was also a dusting of pink on her cheeks.

"No! I don't fuck and drive, you ass! Unlike you," Sasuke shot back, with his eyes narrowed and glinting dangerously, he didn't seem to mind Karin's death grip on his arm. Itachi felt his cheeks burn for a second.

"Hn." he walked up to Sasuke, and he could smell the booze on his little brother's breath. "You've been drinking," Itachi stated.

"No." Sasuke held his head up high.

"Tell me the truth, how many did you have?" Itachi asked.

"Okay, fine, one maybe two," Sasuke grumbled.

"Liar! You had at least five!" Naruto shouted.

"Shut up, Naruto!" Sasuke snapped at the blond boy, who happened to be heir to the largest porn company in the world.

"Five, wow, I'm calling Dad," Itachi pulled out his cell.

"You call Dad and I'm spilling the location!" Sasuke snarled, grabbing Itachi's wrist. Itachi's eyes widened for a brief second.

"The location to what?" Karin asked, having calmed down a bit. "The location to what Sasuke?"

"Forget about it, Karin." Sasuke told her as he tightened his grip on his brother's wrist.

"Who would you tell about my secret stash of porn, little brother?" Itachi asked. Sasuke gaped like a fish.

"You have a secret porn stash?" Naruto shouted. Karin smacked Naruto with a grumbled _idiot_. Naruto had pained expressions on his face as he stared at Karin. "Oh, Karin! You hit nearly as hard as Sakura-chan," Naruto whined.

"You know what I mean, Niisan," Sasuke growled.

"Then give me your keys and I'll let you off on a warning, and keep my mouth shut." Itachi held out his hand.

"How am I going to get to school?" Sasuke protested.

"You can walk." Itachi shrugged. "Either way it's not my problem. You should've thought about that before killing the lamppost," Itachi said. Sasuke grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and glowering at his brother.

"Fine, I'll tell Dad." Itachi flipped open his cell phone.

"S-Sasuke, you should let Itachi help you," Hinata muttered, holding onto Naruto's shirt.

Sasuke glared at the Hyuga heiress, before sighing, and pulling his keys from his pocket. "Itachi, here," Sasuke grumbled, handing his brother his car keys.

"….Never mind Dad," Itachi hung up, not bothering to care if his father was very confused on the other end. "Thanks." Itachi shoved Sasuke's keys into his pocket before walking off. "I'm going to call a friend." He told the group of friends.

"You're lucky you got such a nice brother, Sasuke," Karin said.

"He's a bastard to me half the time." Sasuke leaned against the wall besides Karin. He took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Sasuke, he just saved your ass and your dad a major headache!" Karin pointed out, squeezing his hand in return. "At least you can show him some gratitude."

"So? He rather be fucking Kiba's whore of a sister," Sasuke hissed. The young Uchiha glanced at his girlfriend. Itachi cuffed Sasuke on the back of the head.

"Hana's not a whore, she's an exotic dancer," Itachi informed him.

"You still fuck her," Sasuke muttered. Itachi grabbed Sasuke by his shirt and dragged him away from the group. Once he was sure they were far enough away, Itachi slammed his brother against the brick wall of the alley.

"Listen to me, Sasuke and listen to me good," Itachi growled, Sasuke blinked, trying to get out of his brother's grip.

"Lemme go, Itachi!" Sasuke squirmed.

"I just saved your ass from getting kicked out of college, from getting in a world of shit with Mom and Dad, everything you can think of, I just saved your sorry scrawny ass from! The least you can do is not make cracks about my girlfriend and how I spend my time with her, you got that?" Itachi narrowed his eyes, "Or would you rather if I tell Dad now that you were drinking and driving? Let him punish you instead of putting my ass on the line if he ever found out! Because frankly I'm sick and tired of your prissy rich boy attitude, so cut the crap!" Itachi snarled. Sasuke glanced at his brother.

"Fine," Sasuke grumbled. Itachi let him go, tossed his arm over Sasuke's shoulders and walked back to the group, smiling.

The others looked up at the two brothers; Hinata furrowed her brow in confusion while Karin frowned. "Well, I'd love to stay longer but I have to get back home. Kisame will be here in a few minutes, he knows Sasuke, he'll handle everything." Itachi stifled a yawn, as he got into his beat up blue Mustang and drove off.

* * *

Itachi walked into a dark apartment. He glanced at his watch and swore when it told him it was almost three in the morning. He was just glad tomorrow was Friday, no work. He pulled his clothes off, and undid his hair, before slipping into bed, pushing Hana out of the center; she looked at him with sleepy eyes.

"Hey." He kissed her forehead.

"What took you so long?" she asked softly.

"My brother hit a lamppost, he was drinking and driving. I pulled his ass out of the fryer." Itachi beat his pillow, as he got comfortable.

"Hmm." Hana rested her head on his chest, one arm falling around his waist. "You're such a nice brother," she muttered.

"Yeah, yeah." Itachi draped his arm around her body, pulling her closer to him. "I know." Itachi looked down at her. "Wanna finish what we started?" he asked.

"No." She pressed her finger against his lips; he kissed it lightly. "Sleep now." Hana nuzzled his chest, inhaling his scent. Itachi sighed as he rubbed his nose against her scalp the smell of coconuts ticking his nose.

"Okay," Itachi sighed softly, his eyes closing and he was soon asleep himself.

* * *

He groaned, weakly opening his eyes. Hana was gone, her side of the bed cool to the touch, he was hugging his pillow, and it was at least past eight o'clock in the morning. He pressed his head against his pillow in protest. The bed bounced a bit after he groaned.

"Hey sleepy head, wakey-wakey," Hana said as she shook his shoulder.

"Leave me alone," he muttered, trying to bat her away. Hana snickered, as she leaned down and caught his lips with hers. He moaned softly, as she thrust her tongue into his mouth. She pulled away slowly, smirking down at him.

"Still want me to leave you alone?" she asked; he snorted, before his arm snaked around her waist and he pulled her down onto the bed and snuggled against her.

"Hn." He kissed softly. "No," he replied. Hana grinned as she giggled. "What time is it?" he mumbled, sitting up and leaning against the headboard.

"Almost one, I let you sleep in," she replied.

"Thank you." He rubbed his eyes.

"You called me love last night," Hana whispered.

"So?"

Hana cupped his cheek as she stared into his dark eyes. Itachi habitually leaned against her soft touch. "Itachi, I love you," Hana said. His eyes snapped open.

"What?" he breathed. "Why?"

"I said I love you," Hana tucked some hair behind his ear. He secretly liked it when she did it, because the touch was light, shy with girly innocence. "Because you are a great guy, a little naïve about the justice system being corrupt, quiet but I don't mind that, and you treat me with respect." She smiled, brushing a few strains of hair out of his dark eyes. Itachi looked away, his bangs falling back in place to obscure those enigmatic obsidian eyes of his.

"Hana, you barely know the first thing about me," he whispered.

"That's because you won't tell me," Hana replied, her voice icy. He glanced at her with an almost defeated dejected look in his eyes. "Why not?" she asked.

He looked away; subconsciously one of his hands covered the scars in the crook of his elbow.

"Itachi, I won't judge you. I'm not like the preppy townhouse girls that have Daddy's billions," Hana said. He barely glanced at her. "I'm raw, I'm real. I'm just like you, I know what life on the streets is like, I'm not a sheltered naïve slut like the girl my brother is dating," Hana reached out for him but he pulled away.

"Hn." He focused his eyes on something mundane. Hana sighed, hating it when he clammed up.

"Okay, I get it." She slid off the bed and walked towards the doorway. "If you don't love me or at least care about me tell me now and I'll pack my bags and get out of your life, I don't want you to be like the dozens of other guys I dated who only wanted me for a good casual fuck every now and then," Hana growled, before leaving the room.

Itachi blinked, before groaning and falling onto the bed, his hands fisting in his hair. "Damn it," he muttered. "Damn it, damn it, damn it all to hell and back," he grumbled.

"Izumi," he said.

"Um… Hana," the tattooed woman replied, her eyebrow arching quizzically, as Itachi sat down opposite her at the table.

"No, Izumi, she's the… sorta the reason behind my scars," Itachi said.

"Oh," Hana blinked.

"I was a member of Akatsuki during my adolescence, and when I was sixteen I met Izumi, she was a distant cousin like ten times removed or something," Itachi said, "but I was so fucked up I nearly ruined our friendship." Itachi shook his head. "I know very well that the justice system was broken, my father turned a blind eye to the fact that his prodigy son was addicted to heroin; Izumi helped me, no saved me from the darkness. She stayed with me through the pain of withdrawal; she helped me get my life together." Itachi smiled at the fond memory. "We began dating for a while, I got out of Akatsuki, but like all gangs they didn't take well to that and…" he paused, looking away.

"They killed her, didn't they?" Hana placed her hand on his wrist. Itachi gave a mute nod. "I understand. Orochimaru killed my dogs when I refused to do a big shot drug lord." Hana looked away. "It's not the same as having a person you love get killed, but I loved those dogs. I raised those dogs from newborn pups."

"Hana, I'm so sorry," Itachi whispered; regret flooding his coal black eyes.

"Don't be, your lost is greater than mine. They were just dogs." Hana tried to dismiss it as trivial. Itachi cupped her face. "Those dogs," she whispered brokenly, "where like children to me."

"Human or animal, every life is precious, that's why I couldn't let you die when I saw you bleeding to death that day," Itachi whispered. Hana blinked.

"You… you were the stranger that saved me?" she breathed.

"Yes," Itachi nodded.

"Why? Why did you save me?" she asked.

"Because…I couldn't leave you and let you die with a shattered soul." Itachi blinked. "Anyway… after leaving Akatsuki, I eventually turned them in. My cousin Uchiha Madara was sentence to prison along with Nagato, Konan, Obito, Zetsu… everyone but me," Itachi finished. "Being the son of the police chief in a system that's gone to hell has its perks." Itachi gave a cocky grin. "I got my life together, went to college, and now I'm here talking to you." Itachi gave a weak smile.

Hana nodded. "What was your life like before Akatsuki?" Hana asked. Itachi blinked.

"Pleasant, annoying at times but pleasant," he said. Hana nodded.

"Thanks for telling me, now I'm gonna post this on my blog." she grinned.

"Hey!" Itachi shouted. Hana laughed.

"Kidding!" she kissed him. "I may be a whore, but I'm not heartless." she winked at him.

"You aren't a whore," he said as she stood up to put her plate in the sink. He got up and leaned against the table, watching her.

"Thanks for the flattery, but I am," Hana rolled her eyes.

"You aren't!" he protested.

"Itachi, I am, you can't deny it," she said.

"No, you aren't a whore, you are my girlfriend, whom I love dearly; who also happens to be an exotic dancer for Jiraiya," Itachi said, before cocking his head slightly. Hana was staring at him as if he just grew a third head. "Hana?" he walked up to her and waved his hand before her face.

"You love me," she whispered.

"Yes, I love you, I am your boyfriend, isn't that what boyfriends are supposed to do? Love their girlfriends?" he asked, gesticulating to solidify his point.

Hana looked him up and down. "You're serious," she breathed.

"I don't give my heart away lightly, Inuzuka." Itachi narrowed his eyes. Hana blinked, a grin stretching across her lips and she squealed, jumping him, grabbing his face, kissing him heatedly.

Itachi staggered back, hitting the table, groaning softly as he struggled to keep Hana up on his hips. For once, in his life, he wished that he had a woman's wide hips; it would make situations like this so much easier. He adjusted Hana again. His grip tightening on her thighs in an effort to keep her from falling as they gave sloppy passionate kisses to each other. They stopped suddenly when they heard a knock on the door.

* * *

 **And… cliffie!**

 **So, I found out that all the chapters are 20+ pages in length. That's way too much for me to edit in one go on a school night. So, I'm cutting them in half. Or at least trying to. Like I said, this story was supposed to originally be like a super oneshot, but it got too long and I broke it up into for parts. Now it seems I'm breaking those four parts up into two. I'm expecting a total of six chapters by the end (maybe a seventh if I want to add an epilogue).  
**

 **Uchiha Izumi is the canon girlfriend of Itachi. (According to the light novels coming out. I hesitate to call this the Word of Kishimoto, but eh, Izumi serves the purpose of being Itachi's dead girlfriend in this, so whatev.)**

 **Updated it to SasuKarin. I love these two together just as much as Itachi and Hana! Oh and yay-ah!** _ **Finally**_ **was able to work in a Three Days Grace song into this. Since the entire thing was inspired by** _ **Wake Up**_ **by Three Days Grace.**

 **Save an author; leave a review.**

 **Cheers!**

 **-Nemo**


	4. Act IV

**Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto**

* * *

 _There is nothing left of you, I can see it in your eyes. Sing the anthem of the angels and say good-bye. I keep holding onto you but I can't bring you back to life. Sing the anthem of the angels than say the last goodbye. — Breaking Benjamin_

* * *

The door opened slowly. "Hello? Itachi? Hana?" Shisui stepped and stared at them. Hana's legs were wrapped around Itachi's waist and Itachi's hands had a white-knuckle grip on Hana's butt. "I'm sorry! Next time I'll knock, but see! Itachi gave me a key and…" Shisui gulped as the two glowered at him. "Heh." He flashed a quick nervous grin. "Uh…oops." He gave a little shrug as Itachi allowed Hana to slip out of his grasp.

"We weren't having… um …sex," Hana muttered.

"Oh, I don't care if you get down and dirty in front of me, I don't mind seeing pretty girls naked, but I'm not gay, so Itachi, I'll pass on the strip tease," Shisui snickered.

"Shisui, you ass!" Itachi felt his cheeks burn.

"Smile for Mommy Ita-chan!" Shisui teased, snapping the picture with his cell phone.

"Bastard!" Itachi stomped towards his cousin.

"Aaaw, does Ita-rii have a wittle girlfriend?" Shisui tossed the phone to Hana, who easily caught it.

"Squee! Monkey in the middle!" Hana giggled as she held Shisui's cell phone.

"Hana give me the phone, please!" Itachi sighed. The girl snickered.

"Aah, you look like a tomato with black hair," Hana giggled.

"Hana, give me the damn phone," Itachi demanded.

"Shisui, why didn't you take a picture of me?" Hana asked.

"Because you're too hot for the camera," Shisui said.

"Wow, thank you, Shisui-kun," Hana giggled as Itachi twitched.

"Why are you here?" Itachi snapped his gaze onto his cousin.

"Meh, Hana invited me." Shisui leaned against the wall. "She wanted to do a threesome and I said sure, so I'm here." He grinned. Itachi narrowed his eyes.

"Idiot, we are going to see District 9 today remember?" Hana rolled her eyes. "Though, a threesome doesn't sound too bad. I'll be in the middle." She grinned.

"No," Itachi growled, his eyes narrowing as he glared at Shisui.

"Oh, what? Are you possessive of your little girlfriend?" Shisui snickered.

"Hn." Itachi stomped off to get dressed in something other than sweatpants.

"Hey, Itachi! Lay off the Viagra!" Shisui called. The door slammed shut in response. Hana giggled.

"You're funny," Hana said with a smile.

"Yeah, well, Itachi and I pretty much grew up together. I'm like a big brother to him, little twerp would follow me around when he was younger. Normally, Itachi is stiff as a board." Shisui paused. "Damn, that came our wrong didn't it?" he asked.

"Only a little." Hana smiled. "But yeah, Itachi can be pretty uh… uptight about things," Hana agreed.

"Well, just around other people he has that stick shoved up his ass, but around you, he seems to break out of that shell and acts human. Like I said when we first met, my cousin has the emotional capability of a rock," Shisui said. Hana snickered. "So this is an entirely new side to my cousin." Shisui smiled. "And I like it."

"Like what?" Itachi asked, he was wearing a Metallica t-shirt, jeans and his hair tie around his wrist.

"Nothing," Shisui chimed only to make a face when he noticed Itachi's shirt.

"What?" Itachi growled, his eyes narrowing.

"I can't believe you like…them," Shisui wrinkled his nose.

"What's wrong with Metallica?" Itachi asked getting defensive. He sometimes questioned Shisui's musical tastes.

"Nothing, just that Tarja is better." Shisui smirked. Itachi twitched as he frown.

"Tarja? That Finnish soprano that was kicked out of Nigthwish? You think _she_ is better than Metallica?" Itachi arched a as Shisui covered his ears.

"Can't hear you! Still can't hear you!" Shisui shouted.

"Well both of you have no taste in music. Three Days Grace trumps all of them, I mean, Adam is so totally hot and he's such a good singer too," Hana smirked. The two cousins stopped and glared at Hana.

"Eeew! Hana you have no taste in music." Shisui made gagging motions.

"I'm not too sure about Adam's looks Hana, but I will give you credit that Three Days Grace is a good band," Itachi sighed, eyeing Shisui.

"See? My opinion is better than all of yours." She smirked. Itachi and Shisui looked at each other.

"If you say so sweetheart," Itachi gathered his hair and tied it quickly. Hana looked at the men.

"So, when does the movie start?" she asked.

"Meh, thirty minutes." Shisui glanced at his watch.

"Well, we better get going then," Hana said, the boys nodded.

* * *

"My favorite part is still the ending," Hana declared over the sizzling pork chops.

"It was interesting." Shisui nodded.

"Do you think they'll make a squeal?" Itachi asked.

"I kinda hope not, it'll ruin the enigma of the entire movie," Hana said.

"Yeah, and what will they call it? District 10? Lame, hey, Ita-rii why are you making your woman do all the work?" Shisui asked.

"Because she won't let me near a kitchen knife, apparently I'm hopeless in the kitchen." Itachi jerked her thumb at Hana.

"He burns water, Shisui, water! How the hell do you manage to burn water?" Hana pointed out.

"I can make breakfast," he said.

"Which is the only thing you can do well," Hana called over her shoulder. Shisui snickered.

"Well, at least we know Itachi can make a yummy omelet," he grinned, "even though my cousin does lack culinary skills and fails epically in the kitchen, which is kinda sad." Shisui looked at Itachi. "A man needs to be able to cook."

"I hate you," Itachi grumbled.

"Well, Itachi you can set the table, that's not that labour intensive," Hana said.

"Hn." Itachi got up and began setting the table. Shisui got up and walked over to Hana.

"You know, you can cook for me any time." He grinned.

"You haven't even tasted me food yet," Hana looked at him.

"Well, Itachi raves about your cooking, so I knew I just have to taste it." He leaned in close. "Flash him, he'll be forced to arrest you for indecent exposure," Shisui whispered.

"What are you two whispering about?" Itachi asked.

"Oh, nothing, I'm just gonna flash Shisui," Hana chimed.

"Oh, hell no! If you're gonna flash anyone it's me!" Itachi jabbed his finger into his chest.

"Jealous much?" Shisui grinned.

"Hn." Itachi sat down at the head of the table, pouting like a two-year-old. Hana and Shisui brought the food over.

"We can eat now, Ita-kun, no need to pout anymore." Hana kissed his cheek; Itachi grumbled.

* * *

Hana tiptoed out of the bathroom, her shirt barely covering her torso and groin. The shower was running and Itachi was watching the news on the couch. "Oh, I-ta-chi!" she called.

"Hn?" he glanced at her.

"Peek-a-boo!" she lifted her shirt to her chin giving him a good eyeful of her body. Itachi's eyes grew wide, a blush staining his cheeks. Hana cackled before running off towards the bathroom.

"Hey! Get back here! You're under arrest!" Itachi called after her. Hana tossed off her shirt and hoped into the now warm shower.

Itachi opened the bathroom door. "Hana?" he called.

"Oh, no! The big bad cop has cornered me! Naked and in my shower! I'm a poor innocent virgin!" Hana bemoaned dramatically. "Whatever shall I do?"

Itachi snorted as he stripped, before entering the shower with her. He slammed her against the wall, his body pressed against hers. Hana wrapped her legs around his waist as he kissed her furiously.

"Innocent virgin my ass," he growled huskily, before kissing her neck, sucking on her pulse point. "You do realize you are under arrest, Miss Inuzuka?" Itachi whispered.

"Well, maybe if I can seduce you well enough, you'll let me go." Hana grinned.

"Hn." His lips peppered her wet skin with kisses as he worked his way down her chest to her breast. Hana laughed arching her back as Itachi squeezed a nipple between his teeth. He slammed her against the wall, thrusting himself into her cavern.

Hana moaned softly, wiggling her hips, feeling him inside of her. He thrust again and she moaned softly. It was unholy rapture in the most sinful of ways; she fisted her hand in his hair. Itachi continued to slam her against the wall violently, the hot water cascading down their bodies. He kissed the valley between his breasts before suckling those soft perky mounds on her chest. Their breathing was ragged and the water made it difficult for Itachi to hold Hana up. He gave one more thrust before coming, biting down on her shoulder. Hana screamed his name as she climaxed. When they were both spent, Itachi groaned softly.

"You have to get down, I can't hold you much longer," he whispered.

"Wimp, do more push-ups," Hana quipped.

"Hn." He pulled out of her, and Hana slid down until her feet touched the floor.

"I wanna be on top next," she whispered.

He buried his face into her neck. "Fine, but not here," he muttered.

The shower was followed by a loud run around the bedroom, where Itachi tossed Hana onto the bed, and they then wrestled for Itachi's set of handcuffs. Hana won and Itachi found himself handcuffed to his bed. "Well, well, well." Hana straggled his hips, wiggling a bit; grinning has Itachi hissed. "Looks like I caught myself a naughty little weasel." She gave a wolfish smirk.

"Hana," Itachi growled.

"No, you've been a bad, bad boy." Hana leaned forwards and kissed a trail from his lips to his chest. Itachi hissed as her teeth found one of his nipples. The woman atop of him fingered the silver necklace around his neck. Itachi felt himself grow harder and wondered why he was even in pants to begin with. Hana was wearing an old T-shirt of his; it was one he got when Shisui dragged him to a Breaking Benjamin concert. Itachi thought the shirt looked very good on Hana.

Hana's teeth found the sensitive skin between his thigh and manhood. _Dear God those are her teeth!_ Itachi thought, bucking his hips. He vaguely wondered how she got his pants off so secretively.

"Patience is a virtue," Hana mumbled against his erection.

"Fuck patience," Itachi growled.

"No." she kissed her way up the shaft and he groaned loudly as she nipped and licked his crown.

"Damn it Hana!" Itachi pulled at the cuffs. "Lemme go," he moaned. She smirked as she pulled out the keys, before straggling his hips, sliding neatly over his erection. She began a slow and steady rhythm, which made Itachi frown and buck his hips to get her to go faster but she refused.

"Beg," she breathed, dangling the keys. "Beg me to unleash your pent up lust." Hana shook the keys.

"Dear God Hana! Let me go, so I can ravish you until your body is nothing but well sexed mush!" Itachi growled pulling at the handcuffs, his biceps bulging. Hana shook her head.

"I said beg not demand," she pointed out.

"Hana," he moaned, shaking his head from side to side, when he realized she had stopped. Damn it, he was so hard, so hard, it was almost painful and being in Hana's warm tight heat was driving him mad. "Please," he panted.

"Hmm?" Hana looked at him.

"Please, let me go… I… I need you… so badly," he whispered. Hell, he felt like crying. Hana rocked her hips once and Itachi moaned, frustrated that she was taking such delight in tormenting him. "Please Hana, free me," Itachi breathed. Hana leaned forwards, her lips brushing over his.

"As you wish." She unlocked the handcuffs. Itachi smirked as he easily over powered her, and began a furious pace, slamming his cock into her so hard he almost feared he'll seriously hurt her. Hana giggled but soon she was too lost in her bliss to even giggle properly, but only hiss in delight as Itachi slammed into her. When he climaxed he screamed her name so loudly he was sure the neighbors heard him, but he didn't really care; Hana climaxed softly after he did and she whimpered his name in rapture.

He held himself up on shaky arms as he stared down at the woman he loved. "Hana, I love you," he breathed softly. She smiled, still dazed from the loving making.

"I love you too," she whispered. Itachi pulled out of her and collapsed besides her on the bed. He sighed softly as he pulled her close, nuzzling her neck as he kissed her skin softly, before falling asleep.

* * *

"Maybe I should get her a puppy?" Itachi muttered as he and Shisui walked down the crowded street.

"Meh, get her jewelry," Shisui said.

"No, Hana isn't the type of woman that wants jewelry. Orochimaru killed her dogs," Itachi pointed out.

"Itachi, there are four things a woman wants." Shisui threw his arm around Itachi's shoulders.

"Four things?" Itachi raised his eyebrow.

"Sex, flowers, jewelry and chocolate," Shisui grinned.

"Now I'm really gonna get her a puppy." Itachi pulled away from Shisui. The other Uchiha laughed and was about to say something when someone screamed.

"Oh my God! He has a gun!"

Itachi and Shisui ran towards the scream. Shisui's eyes widened as Itachi swore. "I thought he was locked up?" Itachi growled.

"Irunno, maybe Old Man Fugaku let him go or something," Shisui whispered.

"Where is she, Itachi?" Hidan asked, pointing his gun at Itachi.

"Fuck off Hidan," Itachi snarled.

"You're doing her aren'tcha?" Hidan asked.

"Hn." Itachi blinked. Hidan didn't ask any more questions after that, he just squeezed the trigger and fired.

It all happened oddly fast yet very slow. Itachi felt his body tumble to the side; he remembered seeing Shisui's body twitch and the bystanders scream in horror as Shisui began to bleed. Hidan shot Shisui two more times before running off. Itachi remembered screaming, but what exactly was he screaming he couldn't remember as he caught his cousin's dying body.

Itachi would never forget the feel of blood on his hands: warm, wet, slick and sticky. It was all over him as he stared at Shisui's ghostly white face. "Ita…" Shisui gave a weak smile as his last breath escaped his lips in a shuddering sigh, the light of life vanishing from his onyx eyes.

 _N-no…no! Shisui…can't be dead…he isn't dead!_ Itachi shook has cold shock washed over him. He blinked rapidly several times before he screamed.

* * *

 **And so ends Act IV**

 **Damn it! I still don't like the ending! Even after all this time. You guts got lucky. Two chapters in one night. This story is about half way through! Yay! Just two more chapters to edit (and cut up) left!**

 **Be warned folks. It'll only get darker from here, so if you have emotional issues (ie, past trauma, a similar situation in RL) PLEASE don't read. Shit gets real folks.**

 **The whole Metallica vs. Tarja vs. Three Days Grace thing was sort of a left over from the original (the original had Kiss oppose to Tarja), and it was a tribute of sorts to an old friend of mine.**

 **Save an author; leave a review.**

 **Cheers!**

 **-Nemo**


	5. Act V

**Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto**

* * *

 _My wounds cry for the grave_ _!_ _My soul cries, for deliverance_ _!_ _Will I be denied?_ _Christ! Tourniquet! My suicide! — Evanesence_

* * *

"Sir, you have to let go of the body," the paramedic said, kneeling before Itachi, he rested a comforting hand on the Uchiha. "You need to let go of the body now," the man said. Itachi was shaking his eyes, wide; he was still in shock, in denial about the entire thing even happening. "Let go of the body now," the medic said, when Itachi didn't respond the medic took Shisui's lifeless corpse away from Itachi. The paramedic was surprise that Itachi was so limp and unresponsive as his cousin's body was removed from his embrace. The medic gave a sad smile at Itachi before placing Shisui's body in a black body bag.

Itachi didn't remember standing up, but apparently he had and he was staring over Minako's shoulder at a point only he could see. "Did you see who did it?" Minako asked. Itachi blinked, totally zoned out. "Whoo-hoo, Itachi," she waved a hand before his face.

"Akatenshi Hidan," Itachi stated dully. "He fired three shots," Itachi added.

"Okay-dokay," Minako scribbled it down on her note pad. "Itachi, I think you should go home and get some rest," Minako added. Itachi didn't respond, he just continued to stare at nothing. "Itachi, go home, eat, shower, relax, just…don't think about what happened for a bit," Minako said. Itachi looked at her.

"Hn?" he blinked.

"Go home," Minako stressed.

"I'll take my son home," Fugaku said, placing a hand on Itachi's shoulder.

"Awesome!" Minako blew a bubble before going off to interview more witnesses.

"C'mon son," Fugaku said, leading Itachi away from the scene of the crime.

* * *

Fugaku drove silently towards Itachi's apartment complex. "Itachi, we'll catch Hidan and put him away for a very long time," Fugaku aid.

"Shisui's dead," Itachi whispered brokenly.

"Yes, but try not to dwell on it for now," Fugaku replied.

"Shisui's dead," Itachi repeated in disbelief. Fugaku sighed. "He… he pushed me out of the way… Hidan wanted to kill me," Itachi whispered. Fugaku pulled into the parking garage of the apartment complex and parked the car.

"Itachi," Fugaku's voice was stern, causing Itachi to look at him. "Shisui knew what he was doing. He wanted you to live," Fugaku said.

"Why?" Itachi breathed.

"Because he just did!" Fugaku snapped. Itachi visibly flinched, shying away from his father. Fugaku sighed, his expression softening. "Itachi, Shisui always looked at you as a little brother he never had, he wanted to protect you," Fugaku said.

"Dad," Itachi whispered.

"You would've done the same thing for Sasuke, Shisui wanted to protect you, because you were his precious person," Fugaku said. "Now, buck up, I'm sure Hana heard about something happening, put on a brave face for your girlfriend." Fugaku gave Itachi a weak grin.

"Shisui's dead," Itachi whispered as he got out of the car.

Hana looked up when she heard the door open. "Hana," Fugaku called. Hana stood up and walked briskly over to see Itachi, a blank lifeless expression on his pale face and Fugaku in his police chief uniform.

"Fugaku," Hana began as Itachi walked into the apartment, staring at everything with a zombie's rational. Hana glanced at her boyfriend, noting the blood on his hands and clothes, then back at Fugaku. "What happened?" she asked.

"Uchiha Shisui is dead," Fugaku stated apathetically. Hana's eyes grew wide and looked at Itachi.

"Itachi," she breathed.

"As you can see, Itachi is still processing the information." Fugaku gestured towards his son. "I hope… I hope you can help him through mourning," Fugaku stated.

"Y-yes, of course." Hana nodded.

"Well, good day." Fugaku gave a Hana a curt nod before closing the door and leaving. Hana turned around to look at Itachi before slowly walking up to him, treating him like a wild animal trapped in a cage.

"Itachi?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. Itachi turned to face her, the lost and utterly broken look on his face made Hana's heart shatter.

"Shisui's dead," Itachi whispered.

"Itachi." Hana hugged him. He buried his face into her chest, sobbing, holding onto her tightly. "I'm so sorry Itachi," she whispered.

"He's dead because of me," Itachi sobbed. Hana pulled out of Itachi's death grip and grabbed his face, forcing the man to stare at her with teary black eyes.

"No Itachi, love look at me," Hana whispered, holding his gaze. "Shisui died protecting you, it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself," Hana kissed his lips lightly, "never blame yourself for something you couldn't've stopped."

Itachi looked down at their feet, tears falling onto the ground. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Itachi, you have nothing to apologize for," Hana smiled. He shrugged dispassionately. "Hey, I'm gonna heat up some leftovers for dinner, we have that cabbage salad too, do you want some of that?" she asked.

"Hn." Itachi headed off towards the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower," he muttered, not bothering to wait for Hana's response.

* * *

Itachi stared at his reflection; he was still trembling. Shisui's blood now black and crusty, was a stark contrast to Itachi's ghost white skin. His black eyes were hollow voids they mirrored and now just as lifeless. Itachi splashed some water onto his face but it failed to do anything, but send him into a coughing fit that soon made him start to gag. He vomited, but all that was in his stomach was stomach acid. The vile taste of the bitter bile flooded Itachi's mouth as he swallowed repeatedly has he struggled to get some semblance of control back. Snot and tears ran down his face; he could taste the salty slime mixture on his tongue and lips. He gulped before vomiting into the sink again, gripping the faucet for dear life. If he could just forget the fact that his best friend is now dead, he'll be able to deal with the world in a somewhat normal fashion. He jumped when someone knocked on the door. "Itachi are you okay?" Hana asked.

"I'm fine," Itachi forced out.

"Are you sure? Because… well, the food's done," Hana said.

Itachi looked at his gaunt reflection. "I'm not hungry," he muttered. Truth be told, he didn't think he'll be able to keep food down.

"Okay." Hana left. Itachi sighed and pulled his shirt, pants and socks off before slipping into the shower. He began the painful task of scrubbing his skin raw in an effort to get the feeling of Shisui's blood off him.

Hana looked at the bathroom as Itachi walked out in a pair of pajamas. Any other day, she would've giggled and seduced him, but not today. She stood up and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders. "Hey, do you want some ice cream or chocolate?" she asked.

"No, I just want to forget this day ever happened." Itachi rubbed his forehead against her shoulder. Hana gave a vulpine grin.

"I can help you forget," she purred.

"No sex. I don't want sex," he shook his head dejectedly.

"Then how about we just cuddle?" Hana asked.

"No… I don't know." Itachi pulled away staring at the Mickey Mouse clock over the stove.

"Itachi," Hana asked.

"Hn?" He looked at her. She slipped her fingers into his hand, and gave him a comforting squeeze.

"C'mon." She tugged him towards the couch. They laid down together. Hana snuggled into Itachi's chest, weakly smiling at him. "Everything will be okay, I promise," Hana whispered.

Itachi grabbed her hand that was toying with her hair; he kissed her knuckles lightly before flicking lifeless black eyes at her. "Promise?" he sounded like a lost child.

"Promise," Hana kissed him. He returned it. "C'mon," she whispered against his lips, her hands roaming his muscular chest, "lemme make you feel better." She gave a wolfish grin.

"No sex, please Hana, I'm not in the mood," he sighed.

"Okay, we'll just lay here like this." She smiled. "I don't mind, as long as I get to feel your touch, I'm fine," she said.

"Then let's stay here, just like this," he breathed, nuzzling her.

"Okay." She cupped his face, before pulling the throw blanket onto their bodies. Hana rested her head on Itachi's chest. Hana was soon asleep, her breathing soft, even and gentle; Itachi found it difficult to keep his eyes open as Hana's breathing lulled him to sleep, his eyes fluttered close and finally he gave in and fell asleep.

Itachi jerked awake, his eyes snapping open and he panicked when he saw the darkness that was pressing in around him. He struggled to sit up when he felt something heavy on his chest. Hana's soft moan was like a lifeline that pulled Itachi back down to reality. He looked down at his girlfriend who was now slowly waking up. "Itachi?" she whispered sleepily, blinking at him.

"Sorry, nightmares." he looked away, ashamed that he admitted a weakness.

"Oh, okay." She rested her head on his chest. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly.

"It's… what happened today, it's like on repeat, and I can't turn it off." Itachi slammed his fist against the couch. Hana didn't respond, causing Itachi to look down at her. He sighed as he shook his head at his sleeping girlfriend. "Hana." He wrapped his arms around her and forced his stubborn mind to think happy thoughts as he slowly fell asleep.

* * *

The water was cold. Itachi shivered as he sat there, clothes soaking wet; he held the kitchen knife in his left hand and stared at his right wrist. He remembered Hidan telling him to cut horizontally across the wrist, not vertically otherwise you'll die. Itachi bit his lip before pulling the sharp blade across his wrist.

Blood blossomed and then colored the water red. Itachi stared at the blood, the pain was dull, but it didn't quenched the pain in his soul. "Damn it," he grumbled and etched a few more cuts into his skin, staring dispassionately at his blood as it splattered and swirled down the drain. The cuts throbbed dully but Itachi easily pushed the pain out of his mind as he cut himself repeatedly, trying to amass enough cuts to equal the pain in his heart. He felt dizzy and realized it wasn't working. He turned the water off, both wrists bleeding, and stood up.

He stepped out of the shower, setting the soiled knife on the sink's counter; he slowly headed out into the living room, and then the balcony. Uncaring that he was leaving a trail of blood that dripped down from his hands.

He didn't hear Hana come home, but her scream as she noticed the trail of crimson regret, but he didn't care, why should he care anyways. He looked over the balcony, calculating how badly he'd be injured if he jumped from the second story balcony. "Itachi!" Hana's voice sounded panicked. He turned to look at her, wondering why she appeared to be so much shorter. Then he realized he was standing on the railing. "Itachi, please, get down, don't jump!" Hana begged. Itachi blinked looking at her and then at the drop.

"Itachi please…don't jump, I'm begging you," she took a few bold steps towards him. He sighed, the wind whipping his hair. "Itachi," she reached out, ignoring the drying blood on his hand. "Please, don't jump, if you need help, I can set up an appointment with a grief consoler," Hana whispered. "Just don't jump!" he squeezed his hand. He looked at her then at the drop.

"Hana," he whispered, sound lost, broken and so very, very far away. He calmly got down and Hana latched herself onto him.

"Itachi, Itachi, Itachi," she repeated his name over and over as if it was a magic spell that would make everything better. She pulled away and stared into his cold dead eyes. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" she hissed. He hung his head.

"I don't need a shrink Hana." Itachi looked at her. "I'm going to be fine," he forced a smile to his lips. He cupped her cheek. "I promise." He kissed her gently.

"I don't want to lose you," she whispered, holding his hand to her cheek.

"You won't," he replied. Hana looked at him, staring deep into his eyes.

 _Why do I get this feeling,_ she wondered as he pulled away and detachedly entered the apartment, which they lived in, _that I have already lost you Itachi?_

* * *

Itachi winced as Hana cleaned the cuts before rubbing an antibacterial ointment onto his ruined flesh. "My brother's slutty girlfriend moved into his place, I keep telling him condoms of cheaper than babies, but he won't listen." Hana looked at Itachi. "I get that line from Anko, she's the bartender at the club, she's Ibiki's girl." Hana smiled quickly as she finished bandaging Itachi's wrists.

He looked at her handy work. "Good job," he complimented. Hana beamed.

"I wanted to be a vet when I was a girl, I would spend my spare time finding lost animals and nursing them back to health," Hana said before getting up and walking over to the answering machine. "Did anyone call?" she asked, pressing the button.

 _Hello? Itachi, its Mom, anyways are you doing okay, sweetie? Do you need something or me to come over? You haven't been showing up at work or answering your cell phone. Itachi, we're worried about you, please call father, your Sasuke or me. Tell me if you need anything, please, we love you!_ Mikoto's voice said.

"Your mother called, I see." Hana pressed the button again.

 _Niisan? Itachi are you there. Hello? I've been texting you but you aren't answering back and been calling your cell, since you won't answer either, I'm calling your place. Are you okay? Naruto maybe able to score some Three Days Grace tickets, doesn't Hana like them? Why don't you take her or something, I can give you Naruto's number, if you want. Gotta go, class is about to start, later._ Sasuke's voice ended.

"I do love Three Days Grace." Hana smiled at him as she pressed the button again.

 _Son, pick up the damn phone! And why aren't you at work? It's been two weeks!_ Fugaku's voice died as Hana deleted the message. She listened to the other messages, mostly from Itachi's family, a few from Kiba and one from her.

"You haven't been answering the phone, why?" Hana asked. Itachi shrugged dejectedly.

"What's the point? I don't need help, I just want to be left alone," Itachi mumbled.

"Itachi, sitting around and moping isn't healthy! Your family is worried about you! I'm worried about you!" Hana shouted.

"Hn." Itachi curled up on the couch, wincing slightly as he brushed his bandaged wrists against the couch.

"Please Itachi, we just want to help you," Hana walked up to him. Itachi snorted. "Itachi, don't do this to us, to me," she whispered. Itachi uncurled himself and stood up to glower at her.

"What if I don't want help?" he asked. "Ever thought I don't want or need help?"

"Itachi." Hana shook her head. "I know that you don't want to be like this, you are a happy person, you… you aren't like this," Hana said.

"Fuck you," Itachi growled, "you know nothing about me."

"That's because you still refuse to let me in! Sure, you told me about your scars, but nothing about your childhood, what you did after getting clean! I pretty much gave you my autobiography!" Hana shouted.

"Because you are a naïve little girl, wanting solid ground because she's too ashamed of being a whore!" Itachi snarled. Hana clenched her fists as she marched up to him; she slapped him.

"Bastard!" Her eyes glittered like hellfire. "I'm not afraid of my past or am I ashamed of what I had to do to survive! I hold my head up high and I have some pride, because I fucked better than the other girls, because I knew if I didn't fuck better than the other girls I was gonna die! I took pride in what I did, and I survived!" Hana snarled. Itachi blinked at her for several long moments before hitting her across the face, detachedly watching her tumble to the ground.

"Fucking whore," he grumbled, "don't hit me! You are ashamed of what you did Hana; I can see it on your face! You realize that all you'll ever be good at is just fucking!" Itachi seethed.

"Fine, if you want to be like that fine! Go ahead and kill yourself! I don't fucking care!" Hana snarled as she pushed herself up.

"Good, I'm glad you don't care! Because I don't care about what you think anyways!" Itachi snapped back. Hana narrowed her eyes.

"I gave you my body, my heart, I loved you truly and completely Uchiha Itachi! I'm trying to help you! But if you don't want help fine by me," Hana began heading towards the door.

Itachi's eyes widened slightly. _Hana… love… I hit Hana? I hit Hana! What have…Shisui's dead! Shisui is dead!_ "I never did!" Itachi shouted as she slammed the door shut, he frowned. "You'll be back! I know it! You have nowhere else to go! So you'll come crawling back to me on bloodied knees!" Itachi shouted.

Itachi snorted again as he stared at the door, before the feeling of having an ice-cold bucket of water dumped on him flooded his system. _What have I just done?_ The thought echoed in his mind. "Hana! Wait, I'm…" he stopped, realizing he had no regrets, well maybe he did, but he was too stubborn to acknowledge them. He looked down at his wrists as he closed his eyes. "Fuck them, their dead," Itachi growled walking to his dark windowless bedroom. He closed the door before opening his closet, pulled free the lose floorboard where his secret stash was and pulled out a small metal box.

Itachi opened the box as he slid the closet door shut. He grumbled slightly when he realized he only had three needles. Itachi sat down against his bed and picked up a needle. He shook it, making sure the hydrochloric acid and heroin mixture didn't solidify. Thankfully, it didn't. Itachi grabbed the tourniquet, tied it around his left arm and made a fist, causing the veins in his arms to pop up, purple-green-blue lines in his arm. He felt for a good useable vein, smirking when he found one. He picked the needle up between his fingers, pulled the cap off with his teeth and spat it across the room.

He felt for the vein again and pressed the needle's sharp tip into it when he found it, but suddenly he paused. He had to think about Hana, about what she would think if she ever found out. "Fuck her," he slid the needle into his skin and injected the drug into his system. He didn't have to wait long as the floating happy rush of euphoria took his body away from reality, from the pain; it was almost like being half-asleep. He undid the tourniquet as his breathing slowed; his limbs felt heavy and weak. Itachi felt warm all over and a bit sleepy as he walked through La-La Land that the high induced. He gave an insane slightly lazy grin as his head lolled from side to side, his right hand holding the now empty needle. He closed his eyes with a soft madman's chuckle and sat there against his bed, riding the high.

* * *

"Itachi?" Hana called. Itachi groaned, his head pounding. He forgot that what goes up must come down, eventually.

"Fuck," he muttered. Itachi looked at the two used needles.

"Itachi, I'm back, I'm sorry… I got so angry," Hana called. Itachi scooped up the two used needles, dropped them into the tin box, and slammed the lid shut, before pushing it under his bed. He looked at his left arm, the fresh needle marks glaringly noticeable. He stood up, a bit dizzy, and grabbed his jacket, pulled it on before walking out to great Hana; swallowing several times to get his mouth moist again.

He smiled weakly at Hana, before hugging her. "I'm sorry Hana," he whispered, rubbing his nose against her scalp, inhaling her scent.

"You surely changed your tune," she whispered. He pulled away and stared deeply into her eyes.

"I cooled down, and realized how much you mean to me." He smiled, trying to suppress the shiver. _Heh seems like I'm still addicted or maybe was never clean in the first place,_ Itachi thought as Hana cupped his cheek.

"Are you cold?" she asked, running her thumb up and down his cheek. He sighed contently at the touch.

"Hmmm, not really," he sighed, a small relaxed smile on his lips.

"Okay," she pecked his lips. "I'm gonna take a shower." She let go of him and Itachi wished she didn't have to bathe; he enjoyed her touch so much. Sighing, he went to the bedroom, slipped into his pajamas, crawled into bed and frowned.

"Tomorrow," he muttered to himself, "I'll find Deidara and get more." Itachi closed his eyes. "He shouldn't be too hard to find anyways." Itachi smirked. Hana joined him a short while later and he habitually pulled her close to his body. He was surprise at how perfect they fit together, her slim curvy body against his muscular one. He buried his face into her neck, getting a heady scent of coconut shampoo. "Love you," he muttered sleepily.

"Love you too," she half turned and kissed his lips lightly before falling asleep. Itachi stared at the woman in his arms for a long moment, pondering many things.

 _Why do I need heroin when I have Hana, who is truly the best thing that has ever happened to me?_ Was the last thought before he fell asleep.

* * *

 **And so ends Act V.**

 **I never done illegal drugs in my life. All the effects Itachi is going through is what I read on Wikipedia when I originally wrote this fic. From reviews of the original posting I pretty much hit the nail on the head.**

 **The original song for this chapter was Metallica's Fade To Black, but I felt Evanescence's Tourniquet fit better.**

 **For those that are interested, there will be a prequel story of sorts in the coming months, titled** _ **Chances**_ **. It features Sasuke and his own journey through the bowels of the underworld. It will be SK. I just haven't figured out what topic I want to explore. Probably runaways. It will take place during the seven years prior to this story. Minako is just an Uchiha OC.**

 **Save an author; leave a review.**

 **Cheers!**

 **-Nemo**


	6. Act VI

**Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto**

* * *

 _I want to feel alive again. So put that smile back on my face and mix it strong my friend! 'Cause I can't feel my face! I won't struggle long, in a world so cold, in a world so wrong! — Avenged Sevenfold_

* * *

Deidara groaned as he woke up to the annoying sound of someone pounding on the door. His head hurt, his ears were still ringing and the pretty-pretty multicolored images kept flashing before his eyes. He was kinda nervous to look at the paintings he did last night, everything always seemed to look so dull when he wasn't high, so boring, and so lifeless. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." He pushed himself up and made his way to the door. He checked the chain lock before yanking the door open. The chain snapped taunt, allowing Deidara to stare at his unexpected visitor. "What do you want Uchiha, hm?" Deidara asked.

"Let me in Deidara," Itachi growled. Deidara narrowed his blue eyes.

"No, how do I know you aren't wearing a wire or have Daddy's little cops just outside my place, hm?" Deidara growled, noticing Itachi twitching more than normal. _Heh, he's started using again. Wonder why?_ Deidara pondered.

Itachi pulled his shirt up passed his stomach. "See? No wire, not let me in," Itachi growled.

"Fuck off, Uchiha," Deidara spat.

"Deidara, I'm looking to buy," Itachi hissed. The blond artist froze for a half second before blinking.

"Got cash?" Deidara asked.

"Naturally," Itachi muttered.

"Fine." Deidara closed the door undid the chain and opened it again. "Come on in," he said. Itachi walked in and glanced at the paintings around the room.

"Impressive," he noted.

"Yeah, ecstasy is great for the art and psychedelic trance music helps. Still like that Metallic group?" Deidara asked.

"Its Metallica," Itachi muttered looking around at the paintings.

"Whatever, so what I can I hook you up with?" Deidara cracked his knuckles.

"Heroin," Itachi said. Deidara gave a low whistle.

"Straight for the hard stuff, after what? Seven years, I think I have some." Deidara went rummaging around his cluttered apartment. "Heard Hidan shot a cop which landed his sorry ass in jail. Wonder if that big shot banker Kakuzu will bail him out again," Deidara called, setting a brightly colored painting aside. Itachi's jaw clenched.

 _So, that's how the bastard got out,_ Itachi thought angrily.

"You are in luck my friend, I got about two months worth of the pure stuff." Deidara grinned.

"Why are you doing this?" Itachi asked.

"Just helping out a friend," Deidara replied, the grin on his face took on a sly quality to it. "That's all. We were once members of Akatsuki."

"You and I were never friends," Itachi growled. "How much?"

"Huh? Oh, for the drugs, meh," Deidara did a quick calculation, "about $10, 320."

"Twenty grand should do," Itachi slapped a wad of cash into Deidara's hand. The artist blinked.

"How didja get twenty G's in what? Twenty-four hours?" Deidara asked.

Itachi grabbed the drugs. "I have connections." He headed towards the door.

"Hey, Uchiha! I'm getting another shipment in about a month, I'll drop the price if you become a regular," Deidara informed him. Itachi left the apartment.

* * *

Itachi groaned as he ran his hand through his wet hair. Hana had came home earlier than planned and he was only able to shoot up twice. He winced as the warm water hit the fresh needle marks. Right now he was extremely glad Hana was in the kitchen. He felt tired, put passed if off as a lack of sleep. He finished his shower, dried and dressed himself before walking out into the kitchen.

"Hey," he called, clenching his hands to stop the shaking. Hana turned and grinned at him.

"Hey, sweetie," she replied. Itachi smiled, wondering, yet again, why he was trading this beautiful smiling creature for drugs. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"How was your day?" he asked, he began to sway side to side, holding her tightly to him.

"Fine, yours?" Hana tiled her head back, allowing Itachi to peck her lips.

"Boring," he grumbled.

"You should go back to work, I'm sure your father won't keep putting you down on sick leave for much longer," Hana said.

"He won't do anything to jeopardize my career, I'm his son after all, blood is thicker than water," he grumbled as he let go of her to sit at the table. Hana looked at him and noticed that he was holding himself more stiffly, almost as if he was afraid to relax all his muscles.

"Are you sure you're okay? You seem kinda tense," Hana commented. Itachi narrowed his eyes.

"I'm fine," he said. Damn it! He needed another hit! Anything to stop this damn shaking! He jumped when Hana hissed softly. "What?" he asked, a slight panic lacing his voice.

"Nothing, grease just spat and landed on my hand." She smiled, watching her boyfriend move from the table to the couch. Hana shook her head as she watch Itachi stretch out like a fat happy cat.

They ate dinner in silence, Hana eyeing him critically. "Do I have food on my face?" he asked.

"No, you just seemed different that's all," Hana said.

"I hope it's a good different." He gave her a quick smirk, even though he felt his heartbeat quicken. "Maybe I'm finally getting back to normal." Itachi shoved more pork into his mouth.

"Really? Because I'm so horny, I haven't had a good lay in a about a month." Hana gave him a wolfish grin.

"Has it been that long?" he asked, sex had been the furthest thing from his mind lately. All he'd been able to think about was eating, sleeping and the drugs; though eating was slowly but surely losing its importance. Goddamn food, stupid requirement for life.

"Just about." Hana gave him a devilish smirk. Itachi grunted and attacked his mash potatoes. "I have an idea. How bout I whip of some dango sauce and cover my naked body with it and you lick me clean." She smirked. Itachi didn't reply, just continued to eat. Hana frowned and she grabbed his elbow. "Itachi?" she asked.

"Ow," he gave a soft yelp of discomfort. Hana removed her hand.

"Itachi, I'm sorry, are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he grumbled.

"No you aren't! Let me see your arm," Hana said.

"No, I'm fine, it's just a little sore," Itachi lied.

"From doing what?"

"Uhm…push-ups," he grinned at her.

"Liar, let me see your arm," she reached for his wrist.

He pulled his wrist away from her. "Hana, I'm hungry! Let me eat dammit!"

"You are positive that you are fine?" she asked.

"Completely and utterly fine." He grinned at her. She crossed her arms over her chest with a huff.

"I still don't believe you," she pointed out as she leaned against the back of the chair.

"You wound me so." He grinned, placing a hand over his heart with a chuckle. Hana smiled warmly.

"I'm so happy to see you smile again, and to hear you laugh." She cupped his cheek and he leaned into her touch. "I missed hearing you laugh," Hana breathed, stroking his cheek.

"Please…please don't ever leave me," he whispered desperately. Hana blinked, staring at him.

"I won't leave you Itachi," she assured him.

"Good, because I don't think I'll be able to…to go on without you." He grabbed her hand, pulling it away from his face and held it. "Just by being with me, you've helped me through this difficult time." He kissed the back of her hand. "And for that I'm forever in your debt." He smiled. He knew that if Hana left him he would fall into the black abyss he was teetering at the edge of and he'll never be able to crawl out and reach the light again. "Please, no matter what life throws at us, just don't leave me," he breathed.

Hana looked at him, saw such pain and fear in his eyes. "I won't Itachi, I won't leave you," she assured him.

"Thank you." He smiled, before shifting to the next seat over and pulling her into his lap. He hugged her tightly and she noticed that he was shivering.

"Itachi, you're shaking," she whispered.

"I'm fine," he assured her. "Just cold." He looked at her.

"Then let me warm you up." She grinned.

"No." He stood up and Hana slid off his lap. "I'm going to bed," he whispered. Hana stared at his back as she watched him disappear into his room.

"Itachi, I hope everything is okay," she whispered to herself before getting started on the kitchen.

* * *

Itachi jammed the ear buds into his ears and cranked the volume of his iPod up to full volume. He tied the tourniquet around his arm, found the vein and grabbed his needle, pulled the cap off with his teeth and tapped shuffle. He jumped slightly as the music blasted into his eardrums, before he smirked. "How ironic," he muttered as he recognized the song, he speared his vein with the needle and injected the heroin. He pulled the needle out and undid the tourniquet, seconds before the high hit. He closed his eyes allowing the music and the high to whisk him away from the pain.

* * *

Itachi grumbled as he grabbed the wrench. He was stuck fixing the sink and wondering why Hana wouldn't bother hiring a plumber. "Fucking sink," he grumbled, rolling up his sleeves so they wouldn't get wet. He hit play on his iPod, and began to battle with the plumbing.

Hana smirked as she followed the music. "Hey," she nudged his foot with her toe.

"Hn?" Itachi sat up slowly, making sure not to hit his head.

"How's it coming?" she asked.

"Fine." He stuck his head back into the cabinet. "I think I found the problem," he called to her. _It would be so damn easy to fix if my hands would just stop shaking!_ He thought angrily. "Hand me the wrench please." He held his hand out for the wrench, exposing his arm. Hana grabbed the wrench and froze, staring at the angry red marks on her boyfriend's arm. They weren't the white scars irritated by something. No. They were fresh.

 _He's… he's using again?_ Hana felt her body grow cold. _He can't be using again! No, what about me? Doesn't he care about me? What about—_

"Hana! Wrench!" Itachi shouted, snapping his fingers.

"Oh." Hana fell back to earth. "Here." Hana handed him the wrench and stood up, walking off. "I'll be right back," she muttered.

"Okay… hey! I may need you help!" Itachi called from beneath the sink. "Aw, fuck it," he grumbled.

* * *

Hana puked into the toilet, moaning softly. She sat back on her heels, fingering her own needle scars. She did everything and anything, whatever the drug of the week was she did, whatever Orochimaru wanted her to do, she did, whatever Orochimaru's clients' wanted her to do, she did. She's surprise she hadn't killed herself with mixing so many drugs together. She shivered. "He can't be using again," Hana shook her head in denial. "Its impossible, he got clean! He doesn't have a stash anymore… he's clean!" Hana whispered furiously to herself. She felt tears cascade down her face as she thought about the needle marks. "That explains the shaking," Hana muttered as she placed a hand on her stomach, before sobbing. She jumped when someone knocked on the door.

"Hana? Hana, sweetheart, the sink's fixed, it's not leaking anymore," Itachi called through the door.

"Oh, good," Hana said, cursing her luck for her voice cracking.

"Hey, are you okay?" Itachi called. "Are you crying?"

"No, I'm fine." Hana stood up and opened the door. "See?" she smiled brightly at him. Itachi frowned and reached for her tear stained cheeks, only to jump and cock his head in the direction of whatever he heard.

"What was that?" he asked. "Better not be the damn sink," he marched off towards the kitchen. Hana followed him and impassively watched him pack up and put away his toolbox.

"Itachi, we need to talk," she said.

"About what?" Itachi grabbed a glass from the cupboard. _Is she catching on? D-did she… is she leaving me?_ Itachi poured himself a glass of water, trying to appear innocent.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine; I've been telling you that for the past two weeks now." Itachi sipped his water.

Hana narrowed her eyes as she noticed his arm tremble as he brought the glass to his lips. "Are you really?" she asked.

"Uh-huh," he nodded.

"Then explain the fresh needle marks on your arm?" Hana folded her arms over her chest.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Hana," Itachi said.

"Yes, you do! The needle marks on your arms are new!"

"Hana, I have scars, my skin probably doesn't like how the cotton is treated or something." Itachi dumped the rest of the water down the sink.

"No! There are fresh ones with the old ones! Damn it, Itachi! Tell me the truth! Are you using again, yes or no?" Hana screamed.

"And if I say no?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I'll tear the bedroom apart until I find your stash!" Hana threatened.

"Heh, good luck, only Sasuke knows where I kept my stash." Itachi smirked.

"Then I'll call him and ask him!"

"He wouldn't tell you, he's too loyal to betray a secret of mine," Itachi sneered. "Why do you care if I'm using again anyways, its not hurting you," he pointed out.

"Yes it is! I see you, and now that I realize it, you are losing weight; you are extremely distant and touchy! At first I put it off as depression because of Shisui's death, but now it all makes sense!" Hana said.

"I'm not using," Itachi stated.

"Like hell you are! You can't stop blaming yourself for Shisui's death! You're dwelling in the past! Stop it!"

"If I was dwelling in the past I wouldn't be using again, like you claim I am! I still remember my brother's screams when he found me high in my room and the hate in his eyes. My own mother was terrified of me between hits, she was afraid I would hurt her because I would always lash out at everyone; the tiniest thing would set me off! Do you honestly think I would want to go back to that?" Itachi shouted. Hana remain silent. "No, I didn't think so!"

"Shisui," Hana whispered. Itachi paused.

"He's dead I know," Itachi muttered.

"You're still thinking about his death aren't you? Still blaming yourself!"

"Fuck." He turned around and glared at her. "You are absolutely fucking right, Hana! I can't stop thinking about my poor dead cousin, so I'm shooting heroin again! Brilliant! Real smart of me, especially after being clean for seven years!" Itachi growled.

Hana slammed her hands down on the countertop. "Damn it, Itachi! You were so depressed after his death! You tried to kill yourself! I… I was scared I was going to lose you!" Hana pointed out, angry and hurt.

 _I'm hurting he;, I'm causing her pain! It's all my fault she's in this much pain. It's my fault that Hana is hurting, just like it's my fault that Shisui is dead._ "So? You tried to kill yourself, and according to the Bible that is the ultimate sin," Itachi sneered.

"I wanted the pain to end! I wanted drugs! I thought death was the only way out! But you came and saved me and opened my eyes! I wish I had never done it! It was stupid and was wrong and a bit selfishly arrogant. Please Itachi, tell me, are you using again? Because if you are, I know a really good rehab—"

Itachi slapped her across the face. "Shut up, I'm not using, stop acting like you care about me," he growled. Hana felt her heart break.

"Fine," she muttered dangerously. "Fine be a fucking asshole! Go ahead and OD, I don't care! Get mad at me! Do whatever the fucking hell you want! I'm not sticking around. I'll come back when you get your head on straight," Hana shouted.

"Fine! Run away, you fucking bitch! I don't care! I don't need you! I never needed you!" Itachi shouted as Hana slammed the door. Itachi opened and closed the cupboard. "Fuck," he muttered as the odd funk of the lack of Hana fell over the apartment. He headed towards his room. He shot up again, losing himself to the high.

* * *

Hana came back to a dark apartment. "Itachi? Itachi are you still here?" she called out slowly walking in and turning on the lights. She opened the bedroom door; the room was black as ink and she gasped at the shadow-shrouded figure before her.

Itachi squinted against the hallway light. Didn't anyone know he liked to shoot up in the dark? "Sasuke?" he called.

"Itachi, what… no." Hana walked up to him, kneeling before her boyfriend. Itachi snorted in apathetic amusement, an insane grin on his face.

"Hello Ha-na," he drawled laughing slightly.

"Itachi, how could you do this?" Hana asked.

"What? It makes me feel good," he laughed.

"You're high!" She stated.

"Coming down actually," he held an unused needle. "Now go, I like to be alone when I shoot up," he grunted. Hana furrowed her brow, before slapping him several times as hard as she could. She panted, looking at him, tears of pain, betrayal and rage cascading down her cheeks. Itachi stared at her stupidly.

"Why… why do you want to destroy everything you worked so hard to rebuild?" Hana asked. He blinked before going back to shooting up, but Hana grabbed his wrist. "Answer me Itachi, damn it!" Hana shouted.

"Lemme go," Itachi grumbled.

"No! Answer my fucking question!"

"I need to Hana, I need this hit," he muttered.

"No, you don't! It's just the drug talking!"

Itachi closed his eyes and groaned. "Let me go," he stated.

"I don't want you to ruin your life," Hana shot back.

"It's already ruined. Now go," Itachi growled.

Hana stared at him. "Why do you want to throw away your life? Itachi don't you see that you're hurting me?" Hana breathed.

"Lemme go." He tugged feebly at her grip.

"No," Hana growled. "You are going to listen to me and listen to me good."

Itachi glanced up at her.

 _Good, he's not so stoned as to forget this when he comes to._ "Right now you have a choice to make Uchiha Itachi. Choice A: Get cleaned up and keep me in your life. Choice B: Go back to drugs and watch everyone, and I mean everyone, slip away from you," Hana said. "So just make your choice, I'll only speak with you when you're clean," Hana said as she stood up, gathered her things and left. Itachi stared at the spot she was in for a long moment before shooting up.

* * *

 **And so ends Act VI.**

 **Is Hana pregnant or is she not? That is the question. And there really is no answer. At the time I originally wrote this I was debating whether or not to have her pregnant during this part of the story or not. Thus there are moments that imply she's pregnant. It's up to you, the reader to decide if she is or not. Also, the song Itachi is listening to as he shoots up is Master of Puppets by Metallica. Apparently, that was an issue of confusion in the original posting. Just thought I'd clear that up.**

 **I would like to say to my readers that if you or anyone you are know are struggling with the problems depicted within this story, please seek help or get them help. Nobody should have to suffer through this. Nobody.**

 **Now… I have homework to do. Ick. -_-**

 **Save an author; leave a review.**

 **Cheers!**

 **-Nemo**


	7. Act VII

**Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto**

* * *

 _But I can still remember what his face looked like,_ _when I found him in an alley in the middle of the night._ _Tell me what you know! Tell me what you gone and done now!_ _Tell me what you know! Tell me what you gone and done now!_ _Gun would do the trick; get it over with! You're better off;_ _to take all you've got and burn it on the spot!_ _Just to get high, (high)! — Nickelback_

* * *

"Aw fuck, why do I even have to be here? It's not like he's my brother-in-law or anything!" Kiba whined as he walked with Sasuke towards Itachi's apartment.

"Tch, shut your trap Inuzuka. You're worse than Suigetsu and Naruto combined," Sasuke looked at Kiba, "and that's saying something." Sasuke finished. Kiba shot Sasuke a glare.

"I would rather be with my girlfriend right now, she had a special surprise for me too," Kiba complained.

"Shut the hell up Kiba, you're doing this because Hana asked you to, don't you even care about your sister?" Sasuke asked.

"Hmph, why are you doing this then, Uchiha?" Kiba asked.

"I'm worried about my brother." Sasuke stopped in front of Itachi's apartment door. "He hasn't be answering his cell or his phone, and I'm afraid he started using again, I mean he was serious about Hana, when I talked to him about her, he was like she's the one, Sasuke! And all that mushy romantic crap." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Don't you do all that mushy romantic crap with Karin?" Kiba asked. Sasuke shot the Inuzuka boy a death glare.

Sasuke snorted. Of course he did romantic mushy crap with Karin, but he wasn't about to tell Kiba that. Kiba grumbled something but didn't bother to say it again. Sasuke pulled out the key Itachi gave him and opened the door. He froze as soon as he opened the door, instantly knowing that something was wrong. Memories from his childhood came flooding back to him. "Something's wrong," Sasuke whispered. Kiba glanced at him and shrugged. The two boys slowly made their way into the dark apartment.

"Why is it so dark?" Kiba muttered, reaching out for the light switch.

"Don't turn on the light!" Sasuke grabbed Kiba's wrist, "He likes it dark when he's shooting up," Sasuke breathed. Kiba blinked.

"How do you know he's shooting up?" Kiba asked.

"I hear _Master of Puppets_. It's his irunno, his theme for shooting up or something. Plus its dark," Sasuke said. He pulled out his phone, tapped the screen a few times before entering the message: _He's using again._

"Isn't that song about the horrors of drug use or something?" Kiba asked, as he nervously shoved his hands in his pockets. Sasuke slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"Yeah, it is."

Sasuke slowly made his way towards Itachi's room. He pushed the door opened and nodded to Kiba who turned on the hall light.

Sasuke's eyes widened as Itachi's gaunt face was illuminated. Hollow black eyes peered up at Sasuke, glazed over due to the drug. "Is he dead?" Kiba asked.

"No." Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he walked up to Itachi. He squatted before his brother. "Just high," Sasuke growled. Itachi gave a soft moan, trying to focus on Sasuke.

"Hana?" he whispered. Kiba watched the brothers stare at each other for a few long and tense moments. Sasuke clenched his fists before punching Itachi.

"Fucking bastard! You fucking bastard!" Sasuke shouted, repeatedly punching Itachi. "How dare you? How dare you fucking put me through this again! You fucking asshole! You promised me! You made a fucking promise! You promised you'd never do this to me again! Fucking bastard!" Sasuke snarled, punching his brother. Itachi gave an insane smile, causing Sasuke to twitch. "Bastard! How could you! I hate you! I fucking hate you!" Sasuke screaming. "Don't you care? Don't you give a shit about me? Your little brother? Huh? Do you? Well do you Itachi?" Sasuke grabbed his brother by the collar of his shirt. "Answer me damn it!" Sasuke shook him before continuing to beat Itachi.

"Sasuke, you're gonna kill him!" Kiba pulled Sasuke away from his brother. The younger Uchiha turned around and punched Kiba in the gut.

"Get lost." He glared back at Itachi, who was laughing in a delirious manner softly. "Haven't had enough, huh?" Sasuke sniffed, fighting to keep his tears at bay. "Well good, because I'm not done beating you!" Sasuke snarled before punching Itachi again. Kiba stared at Sasuke.

"Sasuke stop it! You're going to kill him!" Kiba shouted, grabbing Sasuke wrists again.

"Let me go Kiba! He deserves it! He fucking broke his fucking promise! He's a fucking lair! Damn it, let go of me!" Sasuke struggled against Kiba and was able to pull away, only to slam his fist into Itachi's jaw. "You're nothing but a fucking lair, Itachi! A fucking liar! How does it feel to know I hate you! Bet it doesn't feel good does it? How does it feel knowing Hana hates you? I thought you loved her?" Sasuke shouted.

"Sasuke, stop it, let's just go and call the cops," Kiba said.

"I sad fuck off!" Sasuke snarled. Itachi moaned softly, bleeding from his mouth and nose. Sasuke screamed before punching Itachi some more. Sasuke didn't noticed that Naruto had arrived nor was talking to Kiba to figure out what was going on.

"Sasuke, you're going to kill him if you don't stop!" Naruto shouted. He wanted to go to his friend and pull him off his brother, but Kiba held him back. "Sasuke!"

Itachi moaned a few softly. He was slowly coming down from the high, and he could almost feel his brother's fists against his body. Hell, he deserves Sasuke's animosity towards him right now, he wouldn't like himself he saw himself doing this. "Hit… I need… I need another… hit…" Itachi muttered. Sasuke punched him in the gut.

"Want another hit, Niisan?" Sasuke spat. Itachi looked up at his brother with lost eyes, he opened his mouth to say something but Sasuke slammed his fist into his face. "Shut up! Just shut the fuck up! Whatever you have to say I don't want to fucking, hear it! I just fucking don't!" Sasuke shouted, tears cascading down his face. "Just tell me what you want?" Sasuke asked. Itachi didn't respond. "Do you want to die? Is that it?" Sasuke stood up, grabbed Itachi's gun, and tossed it at his brother's feet. "Well there's the damn gun! Go shoot yourself! Put that bullet between your eyes! I don't give a flying fuck!" Sasuke shouted. Itachi looked at the gun and then at Sasuke. "Because it'll be a lost faster if you just blow your fucking goddamn brains out than over dose on heroin! I won't have to suffer! Mom and Dad won't have to suffer! Hell, Hana wouldn't have to suffer!" Sasuke shouted. Itachi looked away. "So, what do you want Itachi?" Sasuke asked.

"Another… hit," Itachi breathed, his head lolling around. Sasuke screamed and moved to punch his brother, but at that moment, Naruto pulled free of Kiba's grip and wrapped his arms around Sasuke. The younger Uchiha boy began to kick air and struggle against Naruto's grip.

"Why? Why break your promise? You promised me that I'd never catch you high again! You promised— _Let go of me, Naruto!_ —me you'd stay clean!" Sasuke cried, glowering at Itachi. "What happened? Why did you break— _Naruto, let me fucking go!_ —your promise? At least tell me that much before you go kill yourself!" Sasuke shouted. Naruto let Sasuke go, and Sasuke crumbled to the floor and smashes his fists against the carpet. Tears running down his cheeks.

"What are we going to do with the drugs?" Kiba asked. Sasuke glanced at the drugs near his brother.

Itachi moaned softly. There was something important, something his drug-fried brain struggled to remember, because he wanted to, no…needed to remember, but he just couldn't remember what was so important. "…Another hit," he muttered. Sasuke stood up and punched him again, staring down at his pathetic image. Sasuke sniffed, wiping his bloodied hand across his face, smearing his brother's blood on his pale skin.

"Fuck this," he muttered before gathering up Itachi's drugs. "Fuck you!" Sasuke snarled, tears dropping onto his hands. "Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!" he growled, shoving the needles into the metal box and forcing the lid close. "Fuck you and fuck everything!" Sasuke grabbed the metal box and headed towards the door.

"H-hey! What about us?" Kiba shouted, yelping when Itachi's hand grabbed his wrist. Naruto watched as Sasuke left the room without answering Kiba's question.

"H-Hana?" Itachi gasped, staring at Kiba with haunted eyes. Kiba yanked his wrist away.

"No, her brother, Kiba," he said.

"Just watch him, he'll be back," Naruto grumbled, remembering when he and Sasuke were eleven and Sasuke had found Itachi like this.

* * *

The cold autumn air wasn't that comforting but to Sasuke it was a blessing. He watched the drugs burn with angry onyx eyes, memories of the first time Itachi went through this flashed before his mind's eye and he shuddered. Sighing he brought the cigarette to his lips. "There you are!" a voice said. Sasuke turned to see Karin, in sneakers, navy blue jeans, her lilac coat, and a royal purple scarf with matching hat and gloves. He took the cigarette away from his mouth.

"Hey," Sasuke mumbled meekly. Karin walked up to him, glanced around before wrapping her arms around his neck. Sasuke sighed, slumping slightly into her embrace; the cigarette dangling limply from his fingers.

"I'm sorry Sasuke," Karin whispered and pulled away. He broke the cigarette to his lips and blew smoke at the sky.

"You aren't supposed to be smoking," Karin chided as she took the cigarette from him. She took a drag and blew smoke in his face. He snorted, waving his hand from back and forth to clear the smoke.

"Neither are you," Sasuke replied.

Karin flushed. "I have no idea what you're talking about!" she snapped, and tossed the cigarette into the fire. "See! I'm not smoking! Geez!"

Sasuke stared impassively at her, before his lips twitched up into a fleeting smirk. "Just like hold times, huh?" he said leaning against the wall. He pulled out the nearly empty pack of cigarettes. He looked at it before tossing it into the fire. "If Itachi is gonna get clean, I might as well stop smoking."

They fell into a comfortable silence. Sasuke could smell the perfume Karin wore, how it mingled with the cigarette smoke. He looked at her, noting the slight pout on her lips, the fire reflected in her glasses. Slowly, he inched his hand closer to hers until their fingertips were brushing. They held hands like this often when they were both street kids, just a barely-there touch, to assure each other the other was near. "So…" Karin began, "Itachi is using again, huh?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said. "He is."

"That sucks," Karin said frankly. "What are you going to do?" She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Sasuke didn't reply, instead he continued to stare into the flames. Karin felt him link their pinkies together. "I can call a rehab center," Karin said turning to face him and pulling out her phone. She also broke contact with their hands. Sasuke grabbed her hand that held the phone.

"Don't," Sasuke whispered, not looking at her. "I can take care of him, don't call any rehab center," Sasuke looked at his girlfriend. "Please Karin?" he asked. Karin looked into Sasuke's eyes, the orange-yellow lights reflecting in his black orbs.

She broke his grip; put her phone away before grabbing his hand in hers. She rubbed it between her gloved ones before blowing on it. "Your hand's freezing," she said. "I won't call the rehab center, but at least let Sakura know. She can help; her aunt's a doc—"

" _No!_ Nobody! Not even Sakura!" Sasuke shouted, yanking his hand away. Karin sighed, and shoved her glasses up on her nose.

"Don't yell at me Sasuke," Karin spat. "I'm only trying to help! If you're going to sober your brother up, you're gonna need IV drips. Sakura can get you those."

Sasuke flinched, eyes falling to the flames again. Karin was right. She was nearly always right when he was too emotional to think. That was one of the things he loved about her, the ability to keep a level head in stressful situations.

"Karin, I… I don't know why I'm bothering to help him," Sasuke grumbled, running a hand through his hair. "I hate him so much," he breathed.

"He's your brother." The girl folded her arms over her chest. "Family." She smiled, though it was rueful. Karin dropped her arms, inched closer to Sasuke, before resting her head on, his shoulder and linked their pinkies together.

"I know but… argh, I can't believe he started using again," Sasuke muttered, taking her hand.

"I know Sasuke, I know." Karin gave his hand a squeeze. "Everything will work out alright," Karin assured him.

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Karin." He turned slightly to look at her. "You've been always there for me. Ever since we met, you were standing strong besides me, giving it to me straight when I needed it. " He pecked her lips lightly. "Thank you," he breathed.

"You're welcome Sasuke," Karin said. "I only ever wanted to make you happy." Sasuke was about to say something when his cell phone rang.

"Damn it." Sasuke pulled away, grabbing his phone. "What? Kiba, slow the fuck down! Now, what's going on? Uh-huh… shit! Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes. In the meantime, tell Naruto to hold him down if he gets violent!" Sasuke closed his phone.

"What's wrong?" Karin asked.

"Itachi's withdrawal is setting in." He ran a down his face. " _Fuck!_ " he shouted.

"You need to calm down Sasuke!" Karin snapped. "Otherwise you won't be able to help Itachi!"

"Right." Sasuke nodded. "He's my brother, I don't want him in a rehab center," Sasuke looked at the dark blue-black sky.

"I'll call Sakura and tell her you need IV drips, you get back to Itachi's apartment," Karin said.

"Thanks," he said and pecked her cheek before heading back to the apartment.

* * *

Sasuke winced when he entered the apartment. "He's screaming," Kiba said, covering his ears in a fruitless effort to block out Itachi's shrieks. Sasuke noticed that Inuzuka boy's face was pale as milk and his red fang tattoos were a sharp contrast.

"DAMN IT! SOMEBODY GET ME SOMETHING! HANA! HANA! HANA!" Itachi's hoarse voice echoed through the apartment. Sasuke walked into the room to see his brother crumpled in pain, sweating and crying. Naruto was crouched near him, ready to get hold Itachi don't if he got violent.

"Naruto took the gun away from him when he started screaming," Kiba said, holing Itachi's pistol. "Gave it to me to hold on to."

"S-Sasuke… h-help m-me… oh god it hurts… HANA! HANA!" Itachi screamed. Sasuke turned and found Itachi's set of handcuffs.

"What are you doing?" Kiba asked.

"Naruto, help me get him on the bed," Sasuke said, walking towards his brother and best friend.

"Right." Naruto grabbed Itachi's legs as Sasuke looped his arms beneath Itachi's armpits. Together they hauled him onto the bed. He began to thrash.

"HANA! HANA!" Itachi screamed, bucking against the grip Naruto and Sasuke had on him.

"Naruto, hold his feet down." Sasuke instructed as he crawled onto his brother's chest and began to coolly handcuff his brother to the bed.

"Are you sure that's necessary?" Kiba eyed the handcuffs.

"It'll keep him from hurting himself," Sasuke replied, ripping off a piece of silvery duct tape. "And this is to muffle the noise so the neighbours don't call the cops." Sasuke slapped the duct tape onto Itachi's mouth. His cries were muffled somewhat.

"Sasuke? Sasuke are you in here, Karin called?" a voice asked. "I heard screaming?" The newcomer said and looked around and her eyes fell onto Itachi.

"Hey, Sakura!" Naruto gave the pink-haired girl a wave and drew Sasuke's attention to her.

"Hey," Sasuke said with a little nod. "Yeah, it was him. Thanks for bringing the IVs." He dragged the coat hanger closer to the bed and found a hanger in Itachi's closet. He smirked as he slipped the hanger onto the highest hook. "There, an IV drip stand," he smirked.

"Clever," Sakura set the IVs down and took one to Itachi's bedside. She sat down and waited for Sasuke to free Itachi's left hand. "Karin filled me in. Neji is outside in the car waiting for me. So, I can't stay long."

"Are you sure you know how to do this?" Kiba asked, watching Sasuke tie the tourniquet around Itachi's arm.

"I've never done it before myself, but I've watched my aunt do it plenty of times. Heh, for a heroin junkie he has some nice veins in his hand." Sakura grabbed the needle and waited until Itachi's veins popped up more.

"Her aunt?" Kiba cocked his head.

"Tsunade, her aunt. Sakura and her parents moved up north, around the time I turned twelve. She eventually came back for high school and is living with her aunt as she attends," Naruto said.

"Thanks for giving my life story Naruto," Sakura growled and tossed back some pink tresses and speared Itachi's vein, swiftly pulling the needle out, leaving the tiny plastic tube in. "Of course you could've always asked me Kiba." Sakura smirked as she slapped some clothe table over Itachi's IV to keep it in place. "There, that should do. Make sure he doesn't rip it out okay, Sasuke. You know how to change it?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah." Sasuke nodded.

"Karin forgot to remind you, that since you'll be helping Itachi get better you'll be missing school," Sakura pointed out.

"About that… could you or Karin take notes for me?" Sasuke asked.  
"I'll tell Hinata. She's the best at taking notes!" Naruto piped up. "Plus, I can bring you them."

"Thanks Naruto," Sasuke said.

Sakura glanced at her watched and tucked some hair behind her ear. "Anyway, I have to go. Call me Sasuke if you need any medical help. Like I said, Neji is waiting for me downstairs," she said, gave a little wave and left the apartment.

"I better get going too," Naruto said. "Later bastard."

"See ya, idiot," Sasuke replied.

"I'm going too," Kiba said before Sasuke could protest. Sasuke watched as the Inuzuka boy followed after Naruto.

* * *

It had been about three days since Sasuke found Itachi. "Is he doing any better?" Naruto asked, holding some papers for Sasuke. "I brought your notes."

"Well, at least he isn't screaming anymore," Sasuke pointed out. "And thanks." Sasuke took them. "Wow, Hinata has really nice handwriting."

"I know." Naruto grinned. "It's been than my chicken scratch penmanship."

"True," Sasuke sighed. The boys jumped when they heard a knock on the door.

"I'll get it. I bet it's just the pizza boy with my food." Sasuke walked up to the door and violently yanked it open. "Oh." He looked at Hana who was standing in the doorway. "Hana?" he said.

"Hey Sasuke, uhm… I just came to uhm… how's your brother?" Hana mumbled.

"You came to see him didn't you?" Sasuke asked. Hana nodded, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Yes," she chocked on her sob.

"He's in the bedroom," Sasuke whispered. "Though I wouldn't recommend you seeing him. He's out of it. Doesn't recognize anyone. Not even me."

"I see, but… still… I want to," Hana breathed.

"Do whatever you feel is best then," Sasuke replied with an indifferent shrug. Hana mutely nodded and entered the apartment.

Sasuke followed her, staring at her with apathy. Hana was sitting next to his brother. Itachi's hands were still cuffed to the bed and his knees were tucked up against his chest. She brushed his sweat drenched bangs out of his face. Itachi was shaking, with tears cascading down his face and his nose was running. Soft moans of pain exited his mouth and his eyes had that unfocused look due to the fever; his cheeks flushed as well. All induced by the withdrawal from heroin. Sasuke leaned casually against the doorframe. "Just to give you fair warning, he won't even remember you were here when he comes to," Sasuke said.

Hana looked at the young Uchiha with sad desperate eyes. "I know, but I just can't leave him, suffering like this. I still love him," Hana replied forlornly, before looking at her boyfriend; there was nothing left of Itachi. His eyes were hollow lifeless voids; it broke Hana's heart to see him so broken, so vulnerable. There was a noise at the door, which Naruto went to investigate while Sasuke cocked his head in that direction.

"Sasuke, pizza." Naruto said.

"My food is here. Stay as long as you like, just don't expect anything." He looked at the Inuzuka woman. "I'm coming Naruto," he called before leaving Hana with his brother. Hana watched the door close, before curling up onto the bed next to Itachi.

"H-help m-me…" he whispered raggedly, his eyes wide and fearful. "St-stop th-the p-pain…pl-please…" he begged, reaching out to her, like a dying man reaching for the angels he sees. Hana cried silently as she took his shaking hand.

"Shh, I'm here Itachi, just calm down," Hana whispered, brushing his wet bangs out of his face.

Itachi gave a weak smile. "Th-thank you… my angel," he breathed. Hana chocked on her sob as she pressed her forehead against his, a sad-happy smile on her lips.

"Yes, Itachi," she breathed, "I am your angel."

Itachi stared at her blankly for a bit longer, before he rolled over groaning loudly in pain. Hana broke down and hugged him. "It's going to be okay Itachi, just don't fight it, please, I love you," she whispered sadly, hugging him tightly. She could feel his body tremble; she could hear his moans of pain.

"Ha-na…" he gasped.

"Itachi, I'm here! Itachi," Hana said, not daring to roll him over.

"Want… Ha-na," he forced out. Hana blinked several times, as cold reality settled neatly into her gut. She wasn't here to him. To him, she was gone, far away from here. "HANA!" Itachi screamed. He began to thrash about; Hana stared, unable to speak, as her boyfriend jerked back and forth, trying to free himself while screaming her name at the top of his lungs. So stunned, she was, that she didn't even hear the door open or see Sasuke run towards the bed.

"Hana, move!" Sasuke shouted. Hana moved as she watched mutely as Sasuke sat on Itachi's chest.

"HANA! I WANT HANA!" Itachi screamed.

"Shut up Itachi," Sasuke growled as he pulled out his roll of duct tape.

"DAMN IT! TELL ME WHERE HANA IS!" Itachi screamed, pulling against the chains. Sasuke tore off a piece of duct tape.

"Shut up," Sasuke growled.

"NO! HANA! HANA!" Itachi shouted before Sasuke slapped the duct tape over his brother's mouth.

"You should go," Sasuke muttered not bothering to look at Kiba's sister. Hana nodded dumbly, leaving the apartment, trying in vain to get Itachi's screams for her out of her head.

* * *

 **And so ends Act VII.**

 **This is the second to the last act. The final chapter will be posted Friday night. Personally, this is my favorite chapter. I don't know why. Probably because we get to see some of the other characters besides Itachi and Hana and see how Itachi's drug abuse effects them.**

 **In the original posting it was just Kiba and Sasuke, I added Naruto cause I think Naruto would be by Sasuke's side helping him through this difficult time. Also, in the original, Kiba's girlfriend was Ino. I changed this and left his girlfriend a nameless person.**

 **The final chapter starts to lighten up, and the conversation between Karin and Sasuke alludes to the prequel fic I plan to write.**

 **Sasuke is 18 (and so is the Konoha 11, Karin and Suigetsu).**

 **Save an author; leave a review.**

 **Cheers!**

 **-Nemo**


	8. Act VIII

**Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto**

* * *

 _Then I see your face; I know I'm finally yours. I find everything I lost before. You call my name. I come to you in pieces, so you can make me whole. — Red_

* * *

"What do you mean you can't go?" Suigetsu whined, catching Sasuke outside Itachi's apartment building. Sasuke frowned at his purple-eyed friend.

"I'm taking care of my brother." Sasuke said as he leaned against the building. He rolled his eyes, before popping another tic-tac into his mouth.

"Why are you taking care of your brother?" Suigetsu asked, clearly not in the loop. "Did he break his leg or something?"

Sasuke frowned. "Yeah," he drawled, "he did."

"Oh, can't you just dump him at his girlfriend's house? You promised me you'll come and watch my first film! I worked my ass off doing this!" Suigetsu said, squeezing the straps of his backpack.

"Fine," Sasuke sighed. "I'll see if I can make it." Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Awesome! Before you know it, I'll be a famous director!" Suigetsu grinned.

"Sure."

"Hey, Uchiha!" Kiba shouted. Sasuke sighed and looked at Kiba who was stalking towards him, looking pissed as hell.

"What is it Ki—"

Kiba punched Sasuke in the jaw.

"Your bastard of a brother has gone and broke my sister's heart!" Kiba shouted.

"Not my fault! She was the one that came to the apartment to see him!" Sasuke shouted, tackling Kiba.

"Fucking bastard!" Kiba punched Sasuke in the gut. Sasuke tumbled to the ground taking Kiba with him. Naruto pulled up into the parallel parking spot. He got and stared at the two.

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Naruto, betcha Sasuke wins! Fight!" Suigets shouted. Naruto rolled his eyes and tried to break Sasuke and Kiba up, which got him nowhere.

"Bastard!" Sasuke shouted, pushing against Kiba with his foot as he struggled to get the other boy off him. Sasuke was eventually to push Kiba off him and he squared his shoulders, as Kiba growled and tackled him again. Sasuke snarled as he saw the crowd of curious people around them, some chanting along with Suigetsu. "Damn it!" Sasuke ground out. Kiba punched Sasuke in the gut and then the jaw.

Sasuke snarled, upset that his friends weren't helping him, when suddenly someone pulled them apart. "Juugo!" Sasuke asked.

"You shouldn't fight," Juugo said.

"Hn." Sasuke touched his bleeding lip. "Don't expect me to show up, Suigetsu." Sasuke said as he wiped blood away from his bleeding lip and entered the apartment building.

* * *

Itachi groaned softly. It had been such a long time since his body didn't hurt. His fever broke a few days ago and the pain had only stopped yesterday. He sniffed as he slowly propped himself up as he opened his eyes. He saw a flash of brown hair and the back of a woman. "Hana?" he blinked trying to think straight. _Hana was here?_ His fuzzy brain computed. He groaned before passing out.

* * *

Karin moaned softly as she slowly bucked her hips. Sasuke echoed the sound at the sensation that ran up his nerves. It felt so good to be buried deep in Karin's warm wet heat. She was spending the night with him, since Itachi was out of it, and it was boring as hell. They decided to have a little fun. His back was against the soft cushions of his brother's couch and his girlfriend was riding him with tantalizing slowness. Their clothes had somehow been removed, but neither one remembered taking them off.

"Sa-Sasuke…" Karin moaned when he jerked his hips up into her. They were taking it slowly, because Karin wanted it slow.

"I love it when you say my name like that," he purred, bucking his hips again. She moaned, her mouth forming a perfect little O of surprise. She returned the favor by grinding down on him and rolling his hips forward. That got a hiss from him. He sat up a bit, and bit the top of her breast. "Like that?" he asked, a smoldering look in his coal dark eyes.

"Yesssss….." Karin hissed, and tossed her head, so her blood red tresses fell around her face. It was a blood red hood of hair, and had that sharp tangy scent of her shampoo. He pressed his lips against her, nibbling at her lip and tracing her teeth with his tongue.

 _She does such wicked things with her tongue._ He thought, moaning into her mouth when she jerked her hips again. _And her hips_. "Naughty girl," he breathed against her mouth and gave her firm buttocks a squeeze. "My naughty, naughty girl."

Karin gave a little giggle, the blush on her cheeks deepening. "You are such a bad, bad boy, though." Karin growled, while she ground down on him. She threaded her fingers of one hand through his ink black hair and gave a sharp tug. He gasped, enjoying the sharp pain and sighed when her warm mouth found his neck. She bit and suck, her other hand going to his hip to pull him closer to her when he thrust.

 _She's close. She's getting more demanding,_ he thought as he picked up his pace. He tugged at her hair and scratched at her back, sometimes tracing an old scar.

"Mmm…. Sasuke… Sasuke…" Karin moaned, her breathing getting heavier and her vocalization getting higher. She was close, he knew, and so was he. "Bite me… Sasuke… bite me!" she ordered. He was very happy to comply; his rapid thrusts were causing the couch springs to squeak.

"Love you," he breathed, before kissing a recently made bite mark.

"Mmmm…" Karin ran her hands through his hair, tugging at the ends sharply. "Love you too," she replied. Sasuke smirked, held her hips down, bit her shoulder and thrust up into her with one powerful motion. "Aaah… Sasuke… Sasuke… _Sasuke!_ " Karin screamed as she climaxed. He groaned, coming seconds after her.

Karin flopped forward and he wiggled out of her. "That was fun," she giggled breathily. She kissed his bear shoulder as he pulled the slimy condom off his member. He placed it on the wrapper that was on the floor.

"Yeah, it was." He pulled the blanket over their naked bodies and snuggled closer to her. "Maybe later we can do it again."

Karin giggled, adjusted her glasses and said, "I'd like that."

"I rather you two not fuck again on my couch," a voice said. Karin and Sasuke both jumped, any post-orgasm warm fuzzies melting away as they looked up. Towering over them was Itachi. Gaunt, pale, with sunken eyes and cheeks, looking more like a bag of skin and bones than a person. "I sit on that couch. I don't want your baby-making goop all over it." Itachi swayed and caught himself on the back of the couch. "And pick up that used condom Sasuke. It's gross and looks like a nasty dead jellyfish."

"Itachi!" Sasuke shouted, scrambling to sit up and keep the blanket covering him and Karin. Karin hugged her boyfriend's back shyly. "What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked.

"I live here." Itachi frowned. "And why are you two fucking on my couch?" he asked, only to sway slightly again, and this time steadying himself on the armrest of the couch.

"Uh… " Sasuke drew a blank and instead opted into giving Itachi a big fat grin.

"Cause you were using the bed, dumbass," Karin grumbled, a pout on her lips. "Where else were we gonna fuck? On the floor."

"I heard you two," Itachi replied. His expression was a mix between horror and mortification. Sasuke hung his head, fidgeting with his fingers. Itachi groaned, his free arm wrapping around his middle and his grip on the armrest tightening, until his knuckles were white.

"Itachi!" Sasuke got up and went to his brother's side.

"For fuck's sake…" Itachi gasped. "Put some clothes on, Sasuke!" Itachi weakly pushed his younger brother away and hobbled off towards the bathroom to puke.

"Do you want something to eat?" Karin called out. "I can make pancakes." Sasuke gave his girlfriend a look, which she returned; Sasuke broke eye contact and went looking for his clothes. He found them in a heap with Karin. He picked his way through the clothes, showing Karin her underwear and bra. "Gimme those!" Karin shouted, jumping up and down on the couch. Sasuke snickered and tossed them to her before pulling his own clothes on and going to his brother. "Should I make pancakes?" Karin asked.

"Might as well," Sasuke said with a shrug as he cleaned up the mess. He looked at the used condom. It did look like a jellyfish.

"Throw that away," Itachi said, having reappeared from his trip in the bathroom. He avoided the couch like the plague and instead sat in the recliner. He moaned softly. "I feel like shit.

"You look like shit," Sasuke agreed. This earned a glare from his brother. Karin finished dressing and began to busy herself in the kitchen with making pancakes.

"I'm so tired, but I can't sleep," Itachi muttered.

"Lingering effects of the withdrawal." Sasuke nodded. Itachi groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"I just hope all of this is worth it," Itachi muttered.

"Of course it is!" Sasuke pointed out.

"Kiba and Sasuke got into a fight because of you," Karin quipped from the kitchen.

"Who told you?" Sasuke asked.

"Naruto," Karin said. "Every last gritty detail." She gave him a wicked grin.

"Figures," Sasuke grumbled.

"I just want Hana, and then this nightmare can end," Itachi sighed.

"Why don't you call her?" Karin asked.

Itachi stiffened. "I just went through withdrawal, I can barely stand! I've lost weight, I… I don't think I can face her," Itachi said. Karin began cooking the pancakes. The silence that filled the apartment was only broken by Karin's humming and the sizzle of cooking pancake batter. She came into the living room with three plates of pancakes. She handed one to Sasuke, the other to Itachi and kept the third for herself. With her task complete, she plopped down next to her boyfriend, and tucked her legs up under her.

"You're a coward," Karin said, direct as ever. Sasuke scowled at her, but the effect was ruin due to the fact he had a fork in his mouth.

"Excuse me?" Itachi looked up at the bespectacled redhead.

"You heard me. You've been making excuses for every thing since Shisui died. Subconsciously, mind you. You were in so much pain you needed heroin, you couldn't quit because you didn't want the pain, now that you are clean, you blame your now weaken body on why you can't give the woman you love a simple phone call." Karin tossed some of her red tresses over her shoulder. "You're a coward Uchiha Itachi."

Itachi looked at his pancakes before nibbling on one. "This is really good," Itachi said.

"Thank you, Sasuke never compliments my cooking." Karin beamed.

"I do to! I love your chicken stir fry!" Sasuke replied indignantly.

"Geez, learn to take a joke," Karin grumbled. Sasuke huffed, but pressed his thigh up against hers.

"But… you're right." Itachi looked at his pancake. It wasn't gooey but it was fluffy and buttery. For some reason this kinda reminded him of that double cheeseburger he bought Hana. "I am a coward," he muttered.

"What? No, you're not! You're brave, Niisan!" Sasuke said. "You're the bravest person I know!"

"Don't kid yourself, Sasuke," Itachi growled. "Karin's right. I am a coward."

Karin smirked, before resting a hand on Itachi's shoulder. "But its okay, we are all cowards when it comes to matters of the heart, just take me for example. It took a lot for me to fess up to Sasuke that I loved him." Karin looked down at her food, a blush coloring her cheeks. Sasuke pointedly looked away from his girlfriend, though inched closer to her to let her know he was still there.

"I had the best thing right in front of me all along and I just pushed her away like it didn't even matter," Itachi sighed.

"Hana came by again, a day and a half ago," Sasuke said.

"Really? So I didn't imagine it," Itachi whispered.

"Yeah. But you were only semi-conscious and she didn't stay long. She told you something, whatever it was made her really upset and she left shortly after," Sasuke said.

"I'm going to see her tonight." Itachi looked at Sasuke and Karin. "I'll tell her I'm clean and that I love her and I want her in my life," Itachi said.

"Don't you think you should regain some more of your strength? You've been on an IV drip for a week and a half!" Karin said.

"How did I eat?" Itachi asked. Sasuke blushed, looking away and Karin pouted.

"I sorta chewed the food and uhm…fed it to you…by uhm…mouth-to-mouth," Sasuke muttered, his face turning beet red. Itachi choked on his food.

"You _kissed_ me!" Itachi shouted.

"You were delirious!" Karin interjected.

"But still! My brother _kissed_ me!"

"No… not exactly… it wasn't kissing," Sasuke insisted.

"Whatever," Itachi grumbled.

"Well, I gotta get home, bye Itachi." Karin stood up and pulled something out of her pocket. "Here Itachi, its Hana's address." She grinned at him before she sashayed out of the apartment's door. Sasuke got up, grabbed their coats and met her there.

"How did she get Hana's address?" Itachi asked before the two teens could leave.

"Karin has her ways," Sasuke said. Itachi stared at the loopy writing. "Oh, and before I forgot Mom wants to meet Hana," Sasuke said.

"Huh? Oh… they… they don't know, do they?" Itachi asked softly.

"Nope, and I'm not going to tell them. As far as they know, you broke your leg. You can thank Suigetsu for that excuse," Sasuke smirked.

"I… I'm not sure if I should see Hana now," Itachi muttered.

"Itachi, you want to see her. Hell, you were screaming for her. You want to see her, I know it," Sasuke said.

"But I… I ruined our relationship." Itachi hung his head. "She probably hates me," he muttered.

"Nah, I told you, she was really worried about you." Sasuke smiled. "Hana really does care about you. This is your tabula rasa," Sasuke said.

"Sasuke, we need to get going," Karin growled.

"My what?" Itachi blinked stupidly.

"Tabula rasa. Clean slate, second chance, irunno, some psychology shit Ino likes to spout from time to time." Sasuke shrugged.

"Oh." Itachi nodded.

"Wait a few days, get some color back into your cheeks." Sasuke opened the door. "Meat on your bones, that stuff; then go see Hana," he said. "Anyways, I hafta go, see ya." He waved to his brother and left. Itachi gave a weak smile before sighing.

"Hana," he whispered and glanced at the scars on his wrists and arms. "I don't deserve this."

* * *

Itachi tugged at his shirt. It was his only clean shirt he had; he really needed to do his laundry, as he stared at the door to Hana's apartment. He gulped and knocked, before glancing at the flowers, he had bought: tiger lilies. "Last time I'm taking Shisui's advice on women," Itachi grumbled. Dead or not, his cousin was an idiot when it came to the opposite sex.

"He—Itachi?" Hana blinked, looking the Uchiha up and down.

"Hi, Hana, uhm… I got you some uhm… flowers," he held up the colorful bouquet of tiger lilies. Hana furrowed her brow as she frowned.

"Go away," she growled.

"What?" Itachi blinked, lowering the flowers.

"You heard me, I said go away," she began to close the door.

"Hana, wait!" He wedged his foot into the door to jam it. "Hana, please just listen to me." He forced his way into the apartment. "I'm clean! You told me to come find you when I'm clean!" Itachi said.

"I don't care! You fucked up!" Hana shouted. Itachi frowned.

"Hana, I know I fucked up, but you can't just…" he ran a hand through his black hair, "give up on me!" Itachi gasped.

"I think I can! I've never been so relieved these past few days!" Hana snapped. Itachi frowned.

"Sasuke said you were worried about me," Itachi muttered holding her gaze with his enigmatic black orbs. "That you came and tried to tell me something, but I was only semi-conscious and… whatever it was you were really upset about it."

 _If only you knew, Itachi. If only you knew._ "Well, he was wrong," Hana said.

Itachi bit his lip, wondering why this was so difficult, and why Hana was lying about visiting him. Though the latter didn't really matter as much as the former. "I love you," he said and looked at her. "I got clean because of you! After you left, whenever I got high, I saw your face! But I was so… fucked up I didn't know how to help myself! Sasuke told me I screamed your name as I was getting clean!" Itachi said.

"Just go…" Hana paused. She bit her lip and sniffed, rubbing at her eyes. "Just go Itachi, I want nothin g more to do with you," Hana said. Itachi frowned, setting the flowers down. He pinned her again the wall, a playful smirk on his lips.

"Hana, I love you." He kissed her gently yet passionately. He sighed happily. It felt wonderful to have Hana's body pressed up against his, her lips against his; they were perfect together. His brief happy moment came undone when Hana slapped him and she glowered hatefully at him.

"Get out!" she growled.

"Hana, I…" He began. Again, last time he was taking Shisui's advice.

"I don't want to hear it! Get out or I'm calling the cops!" Hana growled. Itachi sighed, taking his flowers with him. He looked sadly at Hana.

"I love you," he whispered brokenly, before exiting her apartment. Hana screamed before she tossed the vase that her mother gave her against the door. She fell to her knees, not caring if the broken shards of glass cut her hands, she would welcome any pain, so long as it made the pain in her heart go away.

* * *

Itachi angrily tossed the flowers into the dumpster, before ramming his hands into his pockets, marching back to his apartment in a foul mood. The autumn wind was biting against the skin of his face, and then he heard the click-clack of something following him. He turned to see a lost Akita pup, about eleven months old. The puppy sat down and stared at Itachi with ice blue eyes. "Go home," he growled, before continuing on his journey. The puppy followed him. Itachi looked over his shoulder and glared at the puppy. "I said get!" he shouted, stomping towards the dog.

The puppy yipped before scampering off behind an alley. Itachi snorted and continued on his way, unaware of the puppy watching him.

Itachi ran a hand through his hair, when he heard a yip. He turned and saw the puppy. "Fucking dog." He was about to chase the Akita pup off again when he noticed the flowers the puppy had placed at his feet. "You promise to be good?" he asked. The puppy cocked his head before giving a soft yip. "Okay, I guess you can come home with me." He scooped up the dog and sneakily entered his apartment complex.

* * *

"Mmmm… Hana," Itachi muttered in his sleep, kissing back. He got a mouthful of tongue, it wasn't like a human tongue and this caused Itachi's fuzzy brain to wake up. He opened his eyes to see the puppy, which he named Yuki, licking him. "Ack! Yuki! Bad dog! Off th bed!" Itachi grabbed Yuki's black color and half pushed half threw Yuki off the bed. Yuki landed with a soft yip, tumbling over himself, before getting up and shaking his body. He sat down and stared at Itachi before jumping up on the bed again, wedging himself between Itachi's legs.

Itachi sighed; it had been two weeks since he rescued the dog. "What am I going to do with you?" he muttered, rubbing the pup's head, smiling warmly at him. Yuki yipped softly, got up and began licking Itachi's face. "Stop it," Itachi muttered, pushing Yuki away.

"Yo, Itachi! Open up!" a voice shouted. Itachi froze.

"Deidara?" he slipped out of bed and pulled on some clothes before heading to the door. He yanked it open to see the blond artist.

"Hey, Ita-chi!" Deidara stepped in, only to get tackled by the puppy. Yuki looked at Deidara, sniffed him before licking his face.

"Yuki!" Itachi pulled the dog away.

"When did you get a dog?" Deidara asked.

"Since I decided to get a dog," Itachi growled cryptically.

"Hn." Deidara blinked. "Anyway, I got the new shipment." Deidara wandered over to the couch and flopped down on the fluffy cushions. Yuki bounded up and stared at Deidara, his tail wagging. "And I was wondering why you haven't been by to pick up your share." Deidara looked at Itachi.

"I'm clean," Itachi said. Deidara laughed.

"That's what they all say, Itachi!" Deidara snickered.

"No, seriously, I'm clean. Almost been a week. Now go," he said.

"You're fucking serious!" Deidara said.

"Correct, now go," Itachi said.

"Why?" Deidara asked.

"Just get out of my apartment!" Itachi pointed to the door and Yuki growled.

"Why get clean? Life's boring without drugs!" Deidara said.

Itachi frowned, his black eyes flashing. Yuki sensed the danger, hopped off the couch, grabbed one of Itachi's slippers and hid under the table, whining softly as he glanced at his master. "Because I lost everything! I lost my family! My brother! My life! My girlfriend!" Itachi snarled.

"Like you can get them back, shoot up." Deidara tossed Itachi a needle and he caught it, only to set it down.

"Get out now!" he grabbed Deidara by the collar of his shirt, dragging him to the door and tossed him out of his apartment. "And stay out!" he growled. Deidara looked at him before leaving.

Itachi glanced at the needle. It was so tempting to just forget everything and shoot up. Yuki whined looking at Itachi, the slipper in his mouth. Itachi stared at the dog then back at the needle. "You're right," he tossed the needle into the trash. "I don't need it, I have you and Hana, as soon as I get her back." He smiled, sitting on the couch. Yuki jumped onto the couch, laying across Itachi's lap. "Yeah, yeah, I love you too," Itachi sighed. Itachi pulled Yuki into his lap as if the dog was an over grown child. He rubbed Yuki's belly and kissed the dog's head. "You are a good boy," Itachi whispered. Yuki yipped softly. "I can't believe I'm talking to a dog. I need to get back to work."

The phone rang. "Hello? Sasuke… Shisui's funeral is tomorrow… okay. I'll be there." he nodded. "And why is Mom squealing?" he asked. "Oh, Karin is over." Itachi smirked. "Condoms cost less than babies," Itachi said and hung up before Sasuke could processes what he said.

* * *

The sky was dark steel grey, rain poured down in thick silver sheets and Itachi stared numbly off into space, his black umbrella keeping the rain off him. He didn't really pay attention to the priest's blabbering; his eyes were fixed on the glowering woman across from him. Both he and she knew that it would be rude to leave during this, so they stayed and settled for staring at each other. Well, Itachi was doing the staring while Hana was glaring at him.

Hana was in a lovely black dress, now soaking wet and showing off every curve her cute body possessed. Itachi was in his ceremonial police uniform with his umbrella, Yuki, chewing on his bright red leash, was at his side.

Taps began to play as the coffin containing his brother's dissected body was slowly lowered into the ground. Itachi vaguely wondered if Shisui was afraid to be in the ground, in a box and eventually end up as worm food. Itachi wondered what it would be like to die, but the unnerving thought made him shutter and he shook it off. Yuki snorted and gave a sharp tug on his leash. Itachi looked at the puppy, which stopped playing with his leash and settled down. The sound of dirt hitting the coffin was one of those sounds Itachi would never forget, right along with the sound of the gun that killed Shisui.

The funeral ended, it was raining heavily now almost as if the sky was crying for Shisui and for those that refuse to shed tears. There wasn't much fanfare and Itachi followed Hana slowly from behind, partly because Yuki still wasn't leash trained.

"Hana, wait!" he called.

"What now, Uchiha?" she growled.

"I'm sorry, for everything," he said.

"Sorry doesn't begin to fix the fact you broke my heart." Hana choked on her tears.

"Damn it, Hana! I'm hurting too! I regret I did anything to drive you away! To hurt you! Hana, please, I love you." He took a breath before pulling Yuki into the spotlight. Hana looked down at the puppy and smiled, kneeling down to rub the puppy's head. "He followed me home," Itachi muttered and held the umbrella over Hana's head. "Please, all I'm asking for is a second chance," he whispered. Hana looked at the puppy then at Itachi, before sighing.

"Okay," she said with a smile and he smiled back. Hana cupped Itachi's cheek and he habitually leaned into her touch. Hana leaned closer and pecked his lips. "Just one date," she said. Itachi grinned, a mysterious glint in his eyes.

"That's all I ask," he breathed and he kissed her.

* * *

 **And so ends Act VIII and Tabula Rasa.**

 **Completed Originally: Sunday, October 18, 2009 at 22:17**

 **Revamp Completed: Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 22:29**

 **Well, it is done. All four chapters have been converted into all the new eight chapters, (you even got SK smut.) Now, I'm off to study for a math test tomorrow, wash my ass-crack and get to bed.**

 **For any fanfiction from me in the future, keep an eye out for a new chapters to Kitsune no Tengu (MadaMitoHashi), Samurai no Kitsun (SasuKarin), Chances (SasuKarin AU, the prequel to this fic), as well as random oneshots.**

 **Thank you so much for reading this fic. I hope you enjoyed it as depressing as it was at times. I would greatly appreciate a kind review on your thoughts of this story.**

 **Save an author; leave a review.**

 **Cheers!**

 **-Nemo**


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